A Legacy of Kindness and Compassion

The call came four months after my dad passed away. He had fought long and hard, battling the multiple myeloma that slowly compromised his bones. Cancer was the enemy.

“The doctor would like you to come back. An abnormality was detected on your mammogram.”

“Lovely,” I thought. “Here we go again.” I sighed and asked the receptionist to check on the availability of an appointment. Much to my dismay, the next opening was two weeks down the road. I requested to be placed on the cancellation list, explaining my reason for wanting to get in as soon as possible.

The receptionist‘s response was sympathetic and kind. She asked me a few questions about my dad. I gave her the brief version, including how blessed we were as a family to have him around for six years as oppose to the eighteen months was originally given. I told her how God had been so faithful in providing extra time for my boys to really get to know their grandpa before he was called home. The conversation continued.

“What kind of cancer?” she inquired.

“Multiple myeloma.”

“Oh, my dentist recently died of the same disease. My whole family misses him. He was a wonderful man. ”

“Who was your dentist?” I quietly asked her, somehow knowing what her response would be. Her dentist had been my dad.

“Just a moment,” she said as she put me on hold. When she came back to the phone, she informed me that was able to squeeze me in the following afternoon for an appointment.

I was not looking for special treatment. When I hung up the phone that day, I realized my dad’s legacy of compassion, kindness, and concern for his patients was perhaps one of the reasons this woman reached out to me with the same degree of caring. She gave to me just as my dad had given to her and her family.

Shortly after, the tissue in question was removed. Calcium deposits, just calcium. My heart was flooded with relief and gratefulness for a heavenly Father who never leaves me and an earthly father that left his mark on many.

“I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.” Hosea 11:4a

NOTE: Attached photos belong to or are taken by the author.