Remembering Dad.

Three years go, my cool awesome funny loving doting dad passed away from cancer. The anniversary of his death was about a week ago, and with Father's Day being here, I wanted to share my father with all of you to honor and remember him! He was truly an amazing man, and I am tremendously lucky to have had such a wonderful father for 24 years of my life. He is the primary inspiration for my nursing career, having witnessed what he went through with his battle with cancer. More specifically, we had hospice services to keep him as comfortable as possible at home until he died, and having these services deepened my passion for end-of-life and palliative care. Having witnessed his decline, and being at his side at his last breath with my family, was truly an honor and a privilege, and now I know that I will (eventually) be a nurse practitioner in the world of end-of-life care/hospice.

My father had liver cancer, which he developed due to chronic Hepatitis B infection. Many of you may not know this, but according to the American Liver Foundation, one in ten Asian Americans is chronically infected with HepB, and many of these people develop liver cancer, which has one of the highest mortality rates of all cancers. What is worse is that few Asian people are educated on HepB (what it is, how to get it, what the complications are, what the treatment options are, that there is a vaccine available for HepB), which fuels the already existing stigma toward it, which in turn prevents people from seeking the treatment they need. Please check out www.thinkb.org, which presents information about HepB in Asians.

It saddens me that his death could have been prevented. Who knows how he, or any of the many many other Asians, got HepB, but what I do know is that he was not properly educated by his healthcare providers about the vaccine, how to prevent its spread, etc. But regardless of whether his death could have been prevented, it is now my duty as a nurse (and future nurse practitioner) to serve as an educator and prevent further deaths from the same cause, in my dad's memory and honor. It is the least I can do to preserve his memory and ensure his death was not in vain.


This is my dad and I when I was little... he took us to the swimming pool every week!

This is the last photo I took with my dad, one month before he passed away.

One of his absolute favorite things was Cherries Jubilee ice cream from Baskin Robbins. He loved everything cherry, but this ice cream was the one thing he CRAVED during the last weeks of his life. When the body is preparing to die, the need for food and drink diminishes as the body focuses on basic needs. During this time, my father asked only for Cherries Jubilee ice cream, which my brother would buy by the gallon! I think he liked how it was soothing and smooth in his mouth, which must have been a comforting feeling. Not to mention, he just loved the flavor! I'll have to visit a Baskin Robbins and have a cone in his memory.

photo courtesy www.baskinrobbins.com

He not only loved cherry-flavored items, but actual cherries as well. Everytime I buy a bag, I always think of him, and eat them with a smile knowing he's eating them in heaven.

photo courtesy www.thedailygreen.com

Anyway, thank you all for listening, for allowing me to share my father with you.