You ARE the Best!

Dedicated to our Dad

To be raised by a father who shows his love and affection for us all so openly, is a blessing. Don’t get us wrong, he was strict, a typical Gujarati dad type of strict! But he also hugged us and gently put his hand on our face to let us know just how loved we are. He still does.

Dad was the pillar of our family, well complimented by mom. They taught us so much without saying a word. Seeing their unconditional love for each other, for us and others, is our foundation. The frame for the puzzle we are putting together, our lives.

Dad’s sense of humor and love for music and dance is contagious and rubbed off on us at a young age. Something we appreciate beyond words as we grew up and life unfolded. We used to take this for granted, but know now how blessed we are that this is innately in us thanks to our parents.

He pushed us to be the best that we could be and ensured we understood the importance of school as well as social consciousness. Similar to our Dada, dad’s father, Dad has a growing need and desire to help those around him. He’s constantly brainstorming of ways that he can take all that he’s worked so hard for in his life to build and share it with those who could benefit. It’s a way of thinking that is best taught by example, and he does exactly that.

About 8 years ago, Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. For those who have been impacted by this disease, you know all too well how it can consume the person over time. Starting off as small, but not so subtle, symptoms such as tremors, slowly over time, day to day tasks become difficult and eventually your independence dwindles in front of your eyes. This would be devastating for anyone, especially someone who is the pillar of his family and was so active all of his life.

Over the years, Dad has suffered through a lot. Things we won’t truly understand no matter how much we try. We do our best to support him, but often that doesn’t feel like enough. The bad days are really bad, but then you get lucky and have a few good days. We were lucky enough to have that last weekend during a mini family staycation we took. We saw him laughing, cracking jokes, swimming for the first time in years, playing music for us and singing to Mom like he used to when we were growing up. This is the Dad we grew up with, this is the man he knew himself to be.

As our parents get older, quality of life is what we wish for them. It’s funny how roles reverse. We were their babies and they nurtured us. But as we get older, so do they, and we find ourselves wanting to take care of them. Nurturing them and caring for them the way they did for us. Now it’s us wanting to protect them.

As we go into this week, Dad will be undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS). This is his chance at a life again, the way he used to be, the way he wants to be.

We pray for Dad’s surgery to go smoothly and for the recovery to be as easy as possible. We hope and wish for him to be able to live life the way he dreams it to be.

Dad, you are one of the strongest people we know. We are so proud and blessed to have you as our dad. You make us stronger.

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If you have a minute of your time on Tuesday, August 25th, we humbly request you to say a prayer.  “I pray for Bharat Doshi’s DBS surgery to be a success and recovery to be easy.”  

We thank all of your for your continued support and well wishes for the Doshi family. You make us stronger.