WE: Dad Lived To See The Day

My dad’s been sick pretty much my whole life. He first grew ill when I was nine months old, and has been on death’s door several times since. As I type this, thanks to 2007’s transplant he is fortunately in the best health of my life, doing better at 60 than he did at 40. So why do I bring this up now? When I was in high school, I would sometimes ask Dad if he thought he would make it to my college graduation. His answer was always the same: “Well… I’m pretty sure I’ll be there for your high school graduation.” That was 2004. It is now 2009, and I am graduating from Dartmouth College the day after tomorrow. The single greatest thing about my life, a fact that gives me more joy and happy tears than anything else about the past 20 years, is that my parents - both of them - will be in Hanover in about 30 minutes/ Nathan Empsall , Wayward Episcopalian, posted on Friday. More here .

Question: Do you have a loved one in your life who has battled health issues for a long time?