To the First Man I Ever Loved,

Thank you for taking me through these crazy 19 years of my life, dad. I honestly don’t know if I could’ve survived without you. You have gotten me through some of the most challenging obstacles and you have taught me more than you could ever imagine.

You taught me to like sports and to play sports (even though that might’ve worn off now, to say the least…). You taught me how to win piles of stuffed animals with the cranes at seaside. Sometimes so much that we can't close the car door! You taught me how to fish, rock climb, and roast a not-too-shabby golden brown marshmallow. You taught me to love Halloween and how to make a rocking haunted garage. You taught me how to build a 7 by 7.5 foot bookshelf.

But most importantly, you taught me to live life to the fullest.

You have taught me what determination means, especially when it comes to getting my schoolwork done. You’ve taught me addition, history, anthropology and statistics. Who am I kidding, you taught me how to read! Remember all the Junie B. Jones books we would crank through. You taught me how to be brave and courageous. You taught me patience. You taught me to never give up

And most importantly, you taught me how to love others along with loving myself.

For everyone who doesn’t know my dad, he is the most generous, caring, and down-to earth man in the universe. He truly cares about everyone and everything. He would do anything for anyone and I want nothing more than those qualities for myself. He keeps an open-mind about everything. The word hate is not in his vocabulary. He is calm when situations can get tense. He is passionate in everything he does. And he is understanding and forgiving when mistakes are made.

Living with type 1 diabetes couldn't have been easy for you. Growing up, I never understood anything about low blood sugar and high blood sugar. I didn’t know what insulin was or what glucose levels were… If I’m being honest, it still confuses the heck out of me. But you has always managed to fight the battle whether it be poking yourself in the stomach and finger or dealing with the high and low blood sugar. It amazes me everyday how strong you are.

In 2016 my dad was traveling back and forth from New Jersey to California every week. Talk about a stressful job! He could've easily gotten an apartment and lived there until his project ended. Instead, he choose to travel the 6 hour plane flight back to New Jersey every week just to see family.

On my last day of camp, I woke up in the morning to get ready and I remember seeing my dad go down the stairs on a stretcher. I had no clue what was happening. I immediately called my step mom and she told me he was having heart pains.

My mom rushed me to the hospital to go see what had happened to my dad. When we got there, my neighbor who worked at the hospital, came out and told us he had had a heart attack. 80-90% of his right coronary artery was blocked. She told us that he was doing "as well as anyone could be doing after just having a heart attack".

And that is when I confirmed that my dad was the strongest man I know

I didn't know what to expect when going into the hospital room, in fact, I was so scared. I didn't know what to say or how to react towards him. The last thing a daughter ever wants is to see their dad ill. When I walked in he looked so tired, he didn't look sick, (besides the fact he was in a hospital bed with a bunch of wires attached to him) he just looked like dad. I wasn't exactly sure how much he could speak. Maybe he was so in shock about the heart attack? But then he spoke, “you should be at camp, it’s your last day, you have to give all the girls their awards.”

He had just had a heart attack and cared more about me making 17 second graders happy than himself.

That is selflessness. That is genuine. And that is love.

Dad you are the brightest light that I could ever have. You make me smile when I want to cry and laugh when I want to scream. I love you dad and don't know where I would be with out you!
You're daughter,
Marissa