Why_I_Admire_My_Father

Everyone has that someone whom they don't realize made a profound impact on their life until they're gone. To some, it's merely a stranger they briefly encountered, but for others it's someone who helped raise them. For me, it was my dad. Jay Boisseau was a man of integrity. He always strived to do the right thing and encouraged others, particularly me and my brother, to do the same. He worked admirably and admired others' work. He overcame multiple adversaries in his lifetime and managed to flourish as an adult after unimaginable suffering. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and this seemed to have had an impact on my dad's work ethic and self control later in life. He inspired me to work hard, to thrive in school, and to always push my own limits so I could "be the best Jessica (I) could be." I admired my dad's courage in what I perceived as conquering life head on and never saw him succumb to sadness, fear, or pain. Until he was diagnosed with cancer. In January 2006, the doctors revealed that my dad had throat cancer, most likely as a result of smoking from the ages of fifteen to forty. Although he had quit nearly six years earlier, the damage had been done. He underwent several radiation treatments and one surgery to remove a softball-sized tumor from the left side of his throat. By March 2007, we thought the worst was behind us. The doctors said "one in a hundred people have this type of cancer return." Guess who that lucky one was' I remember walking upstairs on March 10, 2007 after having just returned from New York to see him lying in bed with a breathing machine. My stomach dropped, and seeing as nobody knew the cancer was back, I was terrified. He consoled me, saying "it's okay baby, I just can't fall asleep without it." Later that month he was sent to the hospital. Then to the ICU. And then to hospice. On Tuesday, July 3, I went with my whole family to say what we found out two days later were our goodbyes. The image of my dad lying on his deathbed pale green, twitching, and unable to muster the energy to speak will always be etched in my memory. My dad never complained. He never stopped working. He never stopped loving and caring for me and my brother. We gave him a reason to get out of bed in the morning when the pain was otherwise unbearable. To this day his courage to face each day with chronic pain and nausea, his passion for maintaining a business and household, and his love for his only two children blow my mind. Everyone has ghosts that haunt them, but my dad will remain one of my biggest, most influential heroes because of the fact that he never ceased to courageously place his children, the loves of his life, before him despite his ghosts. Even as he watched his hair fall out, lost a hundred pounds, and lost all ability to do anything but wait for death, his children came first in his life and in his heart. And for that, I will forever admire my father.