I wanted to write this letter to the people that matter to me, my family and friends. About a month ago my Dad, had developed swelling in his eye and then his face. He went to the doctors and it was diagnosed as an eye infection. They gave him drops and said it would clear up.

After a week had passed, not only the eye was swollen, but his whole upper body. My Mom made him go to the doctor's and run some tests. Luckily she did as the X Ray had showed some spots on his chest. He would have to come in for a biopsy.

The following Saturday night, he was acting really strange, so my Mother took him to the emergency room. The doctors gave him anti-inflammatory drugs and put him in for a CAT scan right away. The swelling was getting bad.

From the CAT scan and the biopsy it was determined that he had small cell cancer in his right lung. It was growing on the vein that carries oxygen-enriched blood to the brain, which was why he was swelling. It was unable to get to the upper body. He was moved to another room and was not doing very well. He was very swollen and was not able to think properly. This was very hard for my family to take.

My Sister was pregnant and my great Nephew had never felt anything like this in his life. My poor Mother was losing her life partner. I had to be strong and tell them he was going to be okay. People asked how I could be so strong, (I will tell you in a minute).

Mom and I talked to the doctor and he said that it didn't look good and that he would recommend starting Chemotherapy. Hopefully it would start attacking the cancer right away, so we decided to try. That day he was getting worse and took the Chemo well as there were little side effects. The next day he was even worse.

I saw my Mother sitting there with my Dad and she never left his side for one minute. I saw a type of love that I had never experienced. It amazed me. My Mom sat there and was watching her best friend die. You see, this is where I did something that I will never forget.

My Mom needed to take a break so she went downstairs. I had been praying nonstop. At that moment I made a deal with God. I took my hand and placed it on my Dad's right lung. I asked God to help him and to remove the cancer so that he would live and continue his life. I promised him some things and asked for his mercy.

My Mother came back and I assured her Dad would be okay. She stayed with him again that night. The next day I received a phone call from my Mother in the morning and she said that he had taken a great turn for the best. It was like a miracle had happened.

I went to see Dad and the swelling was down and he was totally responsive. I know that some people might think that this is a co-incidence, but I really know what happened that night. It was the deal that I had made and I will live up to it until the day I die. Even to this day, my Dad is doing so much better and is at home. He still wears oxygen and goes for chemotherapy every few weeks, but he is still with us.

The thing is that when he was sick and in the hospital, I had this overwhelming feeling that he wasn't going to die and that everything was going to be okay. I promised my family he was going to be okay and not to worry. With the help of God, it was able to happen.

Since this incident, I am looking at life differently. I have thought about how precious life is and how it can be taken from you at any second. While we were in the hospital, I starting thinking about what if my Dad dies?

The thing that came to my mind, in the end, was that I was really lucky to have him in my life for those 25 years when I really needed him. He had taught me everything I needed to know, but the most important was to be optimistic; to always look for the best in everything - that there was opportunity all around us.

I just wanted to say thank you to my Dad and to let you know the wonderful and great man that he is. I also wanted to say thank you to everyone that was there to just listen and to be my friend. My prayers are with you all.

Love,
Dallas