Dad for a Hero
Imagine you have a family member that is very sick. That makes you sad, right? Now imagine having a family member that is chronically ill. Now you’re probably upset.
My dad was diagnosed with Scleroderma when he was in his early twenties. Scleroderma is a disease that hardens the skin and has been called a “Progressive Systemic Sclerosis”. Scleroderma comes from two greek words: “Sclero” which means hard and “Derma” meaning skin. Scleroderma also affects my dad’s blood flow, which causes him to lose body heat. Can you imagine constantly feeling like you’re in a meat locker? It’d be agony. Scleroderma is a progressive disease and that’s the worst part about it.
Over the years, my dad has had so many finger …show more content…
His right foot had a hole on the ball of his foot. It was so decayed that he couldn’t walk on it. He had to use crutches. September 15th, 2014, is a day I will never forget. My dad had a doctor’s appointment like every other normal week. The doctors saw his foot and told him he needed to go home, gather clothes, and come back the next day for surgery. September 16th, 2014 was a day full of tears. My dad went into surgery to see if they could move arteries around in his right leg so they could get a better blood flow to his right foot. Around six o’clock Dr. Vorheis came out of surgery and told my family and I breaking news. My dad had no arteries in his foot- they had evaporated. The doctor’s hopes were to amputate my dad’s last two toes and that would take the decay away. Sadly, his foot was not healing after that surgery. Next, the doctor decided to amputate my dad’s other two toes, leaving only his big toe. I remember receiving a picture of my dad’s foot, only half there. That is a feeling I never want to experience again. None of these surgeries were healing, so there was no other choice. Dr. Vorheis, the surgeon, had to amputate my dad’s leg to right below the knee. My dad was in the hospital for about a month and a
Imagine you have a family member that is very sick. That makes you sad, right? Now imagine having a family member that is chronically ill. Now you’re probably upset.
My dad was diagnosed with Scleroderma when he was in his early twenties. Scleroderma is a disease that hardens the skin and has been called a “Progressive Systemic Sclerosis”. Scleroderma comes from two greek words: “Sclero” which means hard and “Derma” meaning skin. Scleroderma also affects my dad’s blood flow, which causes him to lose body heat. Can you imagine constantly feeling like you’re in a meat locker? It’d be agony. Scleroderma is a progressive disease and that’s the worst part about it.
Over the years, my dad has had so many finger …show more content…
His right foot had a hole on the ball of his foot. It was so decayed that he couldn’t walk on it. He had to use crutches. September 15th, 2014, is a day I will never forget. My dad had a doctor’s appointment like every other normal week. The doctors saw his foot and told him he needed to go home, gather clothes, and come back the next day for surgery. September 16th, 2014 was a day full of tears. My dad went into surgery to see if they could move arteries around in his right leg so they could get a better blood flow to his right foot. Around six o’clock Dr. Vorheis came out of surgery and told my family and I breaking news. My dad had no arteries in his foot- they had evaporated. The doctor’s hopes were to amputate my dad’s last two toes and that would take the decay away. Sadly, his foot was not healing after that surgery. Next, the doctor decided to amputate my dad’s other two toes, leaving only his big toe. I remember receiving a picture of my dad’s foot, only half there. That is a feeling I never want to experience again. None of these surgeries were healing, so there was no other choice. Dr. Vorheis, the surgeon, had to amputate my dad’s leg to right below the knee. My dad was in the hospital for about a month and a