During my father’s fight with ALS, he made a choice, to stay strong, positive, to fully live regardless of his limitations, and to create a miracle…to give others hope.  To walk again, to dance with Mom one more time, to walk me down the isle when I get married, to attend my brother’s huge successful orchestra performances.  He wanted to encourage, inspire, teach, heal, love, and give…to leave his legacy behind….to make a mark in the world and give back.  He didn’t quite heal the way he strived for.  But my hope for him is that he knows, wherever he is now, how much he has influenced a world of people.  How he’s inspired and changed lives by the examples he has set, and how he had become the best father I could have ever asked for.

In honor of my father, I was asked to draw our family portrait to include in the very inspirational book he had formulated over the past 11 years during his experience with ALS, which we are now working toward getting published.