The world lost a great man 8 years ago today. My world especially got a lot dimmer and for sure a lot less funny. I miss my Daddy every single day. 

He was 58, I was 24, and my sister was not quite 22. None of us were ready for him to be gone forever. My sister and I had already lost him once in 1998 when my parents separated and he moved out. 

He passed away in 2007, on a Sunday morning, 3 days after gastric bypass surgery. He was still in the hospital and he essentially bled out internally. A blood transfusion and proper care could have saved his life. 

I was 2.5 hours away in North Texas not having been fully informed of his post-op complications. I had just seen him for the day the prior Sunday for a visit and was scheduled to come down to Dallas Tuesday (2 days after he died) for the night before flying to NY for Thanksgiving. 

Everything about that day and the weeks and months that followed, including a failed wrongful death lawsuit due to the Texas good old boys club, was a nightmare. I sometimes wish I could “Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind” much of it. 

I couldn’t have his death be in vain. So in 2010 I started running, I took charge of my health. I started fundraising for ABC2 since most people who have lost loved ones find solace in charity work and there wasn’t a community for my loss out there. So I adopted David Cook’s charity of choice since watching American Idol during those dark months that followed helped me get through each week. 

My story is a complicated one on many levels. It’s a lot to bear – especially around the Holidays. Family drama and a mother that I have a terrible relationship with make things extra hard. My mother is currently not speaking to me for no reason at all – she left me 2 crazy voicemails including uninviting me home for Thanksgiving. Which is fine because it’s a chore to go anyway out of obligation, but somehow I will be at fault. There is no winning with her ever, my Dad was one of the few who really understand that, I miss having him on my team.