"Be Still, I've got this"

My dad rode an exercise bike yesterday! This is a big deal!! Apparently he didn't even want to get off. A couple weeks ago when he tried to take a few steps with the nurse he couldn't even move his one foot to step. So this is a HUGE accomplishment! -don't worry the therapist was right there so he couldn't fall off, I asked ;)

My dad is a Navy Veteran, beat hodgkins disease, hunts bears, and lions, camps and hikes all over the mountains, and once had a semi truck tire-jack fly off and hit him in the head (yes it was as bad as that sounds), to say he CAN endure is an understatement. What amazes me is how much grace and humility he exudes AS he endures. I'd like to think that maybe a smidge of his patience leaked over to me, but truth be told I think he kept it all for himself ;) I tell people all the time that my dad has never yelled at me. It's true. My kids can say totally the same thing about me.....(ok that last part about MY kids is a flat out lie ;)

As the spectator that i am in this whole ordeal I have realized that it is much harder to see my dad mentally struggle then physically struggle. My sister sent me this picture of his "signature" the other day with the caption "the heart is for anyone who wants to love him" :)

through all the struggles he is enduring right now, one thing stays the same, my Dad's presence.  Walking into his room, even during the moments when his mind is not "there", there has always been a certain calmness that comes over me, almost like he is telling me "be still,  I've got this."  I am so proud of my Dad.