A Father's Gift

Paul and his father had always been close. His father was there to teach him how to ride a bike and throw a football. Recently, he had helped Paul learn how to navigate himself behind the wheel so that he could finally get his driver's license. Life had always been pretty easy; Paul was a good kid who stayed out of trouble and had good grades. His dad couldn't have been prouder.

Paul had just turned seventeen and had always been in fairly good health. The sickest he had ever gotten was when he had to have his appendix taken out when he was ten. Paul's dad, Bob, was confident that his son would have a promising future. What could go wrong?

One night Paul woke up feeling bad. He complained about a terrible headache that despite taking pain medicine, didn't seem to ease up at all. He became nauseous, and he had chills. Bob felt his forehead and quickly realized something was terribly wrong. He was burning up. Checking his temperature, it said 103. He knew Paul needed to get to the hospital quickly.

It was a long couple of days in the hospital. They ran every test that they could think of. This seemed to come out of nowhere. How could a boy that was completely healthy for seventeen years suddenly be so ill. Bob felt helpless as all he could do was wait for an answer. Surely it would be something simple, there's always a virus going around. But he knew they would have to hurry, Paul was constantly losing energy, and he couldn't keep any food or drinks down.

The next day, the Bob was asleep in a chair in the corner of Paul's hospital room when the door opened. It was the doctor. "I'm afraid it's more serious than we thought," he said. "What is it," Bob replied, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. The doctor's face looked grim as he said the words, " We found something on Paul's x-rays. We need to run some more tests before we know for sure, it looks like a tumor." Cancer? How could this be? Cancer didn't run in the family. There had to be some mistake.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a mistake. There was a cancerous tumor on Paul's brain. Paul was terrified, and for the first time, his dad couldn't protect him. The doctor sat with them and told them of different treatment options. Of course, they would have to operate. Then there would be chemo. The battle had just begun.

One afternoon Bob decided to go to the cafeteria to get some coffee. He hadn't slept well in days. While sitting a man came and asked if he could join him. "Sure," he replied. He told Bob about his son who had been diagnosed with a rare heart condition and that it had been really hard for the family. However, while looking at new treatments, they found something that seemed so far-fetched, but if there was something behind it, it could change everything.

Bob was speechless, could this really be possible? There was a breakthrough at a major hospital. Someone had found a way to take a child's illness or injury and give it to the parent. In most cases, treatments would be easier for an adult then a child. Bob had always been there for his son. There was nothing that he wouldn't do to protect him, even if that meant putting his own life at risk.

After consulting with the doctor, it began. The doctor put Paul and his dad into a special chamber. It took about an hour, but finally, it was finished. Paul slept for hours, but when he woke up, he felt like he had before. Bob, on the other hand, was incredibly weak. They knew they had to quickly begin his treatments. Paul gratefully stood by his father's side. He had always known his dad was always there for him.

Six months later, Bob was in remission for cancer and Paul was healthier than ever. It had been a long road, but they survived, and their bond was stronger then ever before.