Fitness Friday...For my Dad

My Dad has always called me his "Pal".  He's always signed his cards, Love: Your Pal.  When I was younger he would steal our crayons and construction paper and make us cards for Valentine's Day.  He was my softball coach for most of my life and on my last college softball game, he left the hospital, traveled the 2 hours to the game, and took the game ball.  Later that week he presented it to me filled with quotes and Bible verses that we had quoted to each other over the 15 years of my softball career.  I can clearly remember one day when I was young playing in the garage while he worked on something...calling out for help and he came running over in a split second to help.

My Dad also has struggled with Crohn's Disease for 46 years....for the entire length of my parent's marriage, they have dealt together with the highs and lows that the journey of Crohn's provides.  If you are unfamiliar with the disease check out the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation website here.  I can not even imagine what it has been like for my Dad to live each day with this...and there have been countless days when I didn't think he would live any longer....a game he would not make, graduation he that would have an empty seat, an isle I would walk alone, and a granddaughter he would not hold...but somehow God has kept him here.  Today he gets most of his nutrients from TPN and hasn't actually ate a meal in 10 years.  He struggles to have the energy to do all the things he once loved but each time his grandchildren walk through the door, no matter how bad he feels, he lights up and begins joking with him.

One of the hardest parts for me as a child of someone with Crohn's Disease is that helpless feeling watching someone you love suffer....not knowing when the next flareup would rage through their body.  This Father's Day I will not be with my Dad (we are celebrating next weekend) but tomorrow I am doing something with our girls to honor my Dad.  I will be running in the Mackenzie's 5k for Crohn's Disease.  It's a small, local 5k with a cause so extremely dear to my heart.  I can't take Crohn's away from my Dad....I can't make this one thing that I hate go away...I can't find a cure...but I can run.  I can run for my Dad and anyone out there that faces Crohn's each day.  I can run...and maybe one day Crohn's will be gone!