This is a story about a very special dad. He was not a stranger to anyone. There was a lot of places that he travel to for business like Jamaica and other places around the world. He also loved to fish and camp on the weekends. He also played softball when I was a baby. He would take me places and when my dad would take me today care I would cry when he would leave me there. When I was 2 years old my mom and my dad got a divorced. But from the time I was 5 years old till my senior year in high school I came to Florida to see my dad.
When I was 4 years old I had to have major surgery on my back cause of my left shoulder-blade was poking me in my neck under my collar-bone. And my dad quit his job in California to come to be with me at the hospital in New Mexico where I spent a week in the hospital. And I got sick with a bad infection on my back where my stitches came open. The doctors said that I wouldn’t have a 100% movement in my left arm.
And then we moved back to Texas where my dad taught me how to swim so I can get my left arm strong and I cried every time I had to swim to my dad cause it hurt so bad. But I got use to it after a while.
And when I was 10 years old I had to have surgery on both of my legs cause my killies tendons wasn’t growing like they should. And I was in a wheelchair for 6 months. And when I was sick he would call and see if I was okay.
And in May of 2005 my mom took me to Starbucks and I got a hot chocolate. And when I turned around my grandma, uncle, dad and my godfather was right behind me. They was there in Texas for my graduation and that was the best graduation present ever.
And that summer I came back to Florida to see my dad and he had another surprise for me he took me to Discovery Cove so that I can swim with dolphins and we spent the whole day there it was a blast.
And then I went back to Texas for another year. And then I moved back to Tampa, Florida in May of 2006 to be with my awesome dad. And on August 4, 2006 he simply began having pain in his shoulders, neck, and head so bad that he went in to the hospital and he had a fever of 106.5 and then it went up to 107.4. My dad became a quadriplegic on August 7, 2006. There was no accident, and there wasn’t any warning.
He was in a coma and paralyzed from the shoulders down. As it turned out, he had an abscess on his spinal cord due to a “spontaneous infection”.
And for years he talked to his friends on mIRC is a chat room. He would talk for hours to his friends all over the world.
And from the day he got sick to the passed away I took care of him for 3 in a half years. And he called me is guardian angel. He also said to me “That know what he would have done with out me here to take care of him. And he knew how to makes people laugh.
And I know that he is up in heaven looking down on me. And saying thanks for taking great care of grandma. And he is watching over me and making sure I am ok. He is always in my heart to stay forever. And I miss him with all my heart and I love him with all my heart too.
In memory of my dad (Kenneth Hankins) From april 10, 1962 to June 16, 2oo9…