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He Only Takes The Best

God saw he was getting tired, and a cure was not to be.

So he put his arms around him and whispered

"Come and go with me."

With tearful eyes we watched him suffer

and saw him fade away.

Although we loved him dearly,

We could not make him stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,

Hardworking hands to rest;

God broke our hearts to prove to us

He only takes the best

My daddy was and is my hero. He could defeat monsters under my bed and hiding in my closet. He could make my day better with just a smile. His arms were a shelter in my stormy times and he always seemed to know the answers to my questions. I always, for some strange reason, believed I would always have my daddy. All that changed in May of 2000.

Daddy had problems with his feet and knees for a long time and in April of 2000 he went in to have knee surgery. Everything seemed to go well until that evening. He began to run fever. They ran tests and determined he had pneumonia and began to treat him. Days became weeks and he got worse. Now he was dianosed with double pneumonia. They did a chest xray which revealed a spot on his lung. More tests that were negative for cancer were run. After 30+ days in the rehab center with little or no improvement he went home. 2 days after going home he collapsed when he lost feeling in his legs. He was rushed by ambulance to the local hospital then transferred to a larger one where examinations revealed a tumor on his spine.

Daddy was rushed into surgery to remove the tumor but doctors found it had matastisizied to his spine and were unable to remove the entire tumor. A biopsy on the tumor revealed a type of cancer that only begins from another source. Further tests revealed the original cancer was in his lungs. At first we were told there was hope and treatment could begin when the incision in his back healed. The incision was slow to heal so they began treatment anyway. Around May 2nd we were told he had a fast spreading type of cancer that was terminal. He was given 6 days to 6 months. My daddy lived not quite 2 months. His courage and faith was a testimony to everyone. On June 27th, 1 day before his youngest grandson's 1st birthday God called my daddy home.

The type of cancer my daddy had is one of the most painful types of cancer there is. The picture above is one of the last pictures taken before he passed away!! On the pages that follow you will see pictures of my daddy before cancer ravaged his body!! As a young man my daddy smoked and he did so for many years. He smoked cigarettes produced by Reynolds Tobacco. It is the second largest cigarette manufacturer in the United States, whose major brands include DORAL, WINSTON, CAMEL, SALEM and VANTAGE. Winstons were his cigarette of choice. He had been smoke free for 16 years. It was once thought if you were smoke free for 15 years with no signs of cancer, you were in the clear. New statistics now say you must be 30 years or more smoke free. My daddy never thought when he lit a cigarette he would end up leaving us so soon. He died leaving a wife, 2 daughters and 4 grandsons. He never got to see his 5th grandson, whom I named lil Al after my dad.

The year before he died I had a terrible nightmare that my daddy died. A year later when he did die, I kept thinking it was just another nightmare and I would soon wake up. You or someone you love can avoid living my nightmare. If you don't smoke...don't start. If you do smoke, for your sake and the sake of those that love you, please stop. I too was a smoker. I began at the young age of 13 because I thought it was cool. For years I tried to quit but I couldn't. January of 2000 I came across a bible verse, I Corinthians 10:12-13. "Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations." I wrote this on a piece of paper and put it on my refrigerator. That same day I threw out my cigarettes. Each time I felt the need to smoke a cigarette I went to my refrigerator and read that verse over and over until the urge passed. I was able to quit and truthfully tell my daddy I had. I am a 41 year old mother of 5 boys ranging in ages from 22 years old to 9 months old. I hope and pray I didn't wait too long to quit.

I miss my daddy more than I could ever say. I look at my younger sons and think of all they will miss about him. If some of you wonder why I chose a background of roses....my dad loved to work in his yard and he always had a beautiful rose garden. The house we live in has roses all across the front of the yard. Spring 2000 I was disappointed when they all bloomed and there were no yellow roses. Some may find this hard to believe, but my neighbors will confirm it, just weeks after my daddy passed away, my roses bloomed again. To my amazement not one but two of the bushes produced beautiful yellow roses. I knew my daddy was alright and in a way, still with me.