I'll Never Forget That Day...

The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I have bad news." He paused, then looked at my father. "You have cancer." In high school, my dad was a star athlete, an All-American football player. Now he was sick. Very sick. He struggled to breathe and was put on oxygen. For the next eight years , a machine kept him alive, day and night. He could no longer work. Even walking to the bathroom became a struggle. Eventually, he couldn't climb the stairs. He slept on the couch in the den. Later, the couch was replaced by a hospital bed. A hospice nurse was there now too. One afternoon, my mom was in the kitchen when she heard him gasping for air. She ran in and saw him staring at the ceiling. "Breathe, Paul! Breathe!" But it was too late. That evening, the phone rang. "I guess you know why I'm calling," my mom said. "Why?" I replied, though I already knew the answer. "Your fa...