And he would be the first to agree with you, but I'll tell you what he does. He works hard all the time, not expecting to be recognized for all that he does. He is the rock of our family.
He gets up at 5:00 a.m. every week day morning so that he can drive 1 hour 15 minutes to work, put in a full day of work, and still be home by 5:20 p.m. so we can have dinner as a family.
He worries each time his cell phone rings at work that he will get a dreaded call that Ellie has had a stroke and is being rushed to the hospital. It's much easier to be with her all day and to see she is okay.
He has twice received that horrible phone call and driven as fast as possible back to Galveston to meet us at the hospital.
He has taken off from work for extended periods of time to be with Ellie and with me while she was in the hospital. When Ellie was in PICU there were nights he slept in the waiting room and when she was in a regular hospital room he slept on the couch. He was always there for us, day and night.
He held her little body as she had seizure after seizure and there was nothing we could do but pray and wait for her to be transferred from Galveston to Houston.
He has gone into MRI machines and held her as still as possible, all while she screamed and screamed and looked into his eyes not understanding why someone she thought loved her could possibly do such a thing to her. He has done the same when she's had to get IVs, blood draws, PIC line changes, X-rays, and NG tubes inserted down her nose to her stomach.
He has become an expert on Moyamoya disease, pediatric strokes, and the genetic abnormality that led to the disease. He knows more about these topics than most doctors do.
He baths our girls every night and has since Payton was born. He volunteers to change dirty diapers. He lies in bed with Ellie for an hour every night trying to get her to sleep. He prepares and runs Ellie's g tube feeding each night and puts water and medicine in her feeding tube when he is here during the day. He oftentimes carries a heavy backpack on his back and a child in each arm so that I don't have to carry anyone or anything, even when I insist on helping.
He teaches our girls to love God, others, and themselves. He teaches them to laugh, to work hard, and to play.
He supports me in everything and shows me unconditional love. I couldn't do this without him and I thank God for Charles. Happy Father's Day to my best friend!
