My Ricky Burrus Speech

Today I was given the opportunity to speak, from my heart, about my father.  The goal of the discussion was how my personal life tied in directly to my company's mission.  I spoke about my father because of his 28 year battle with chronic disease of the heart.  I was so nervous to give this talk because it was going to be in front of my entire company that is made up of the best and brightest talent in the medical field, engineers, doctors, nurses, top executives and everyone else that I am lucky enough to work along side.  I wanted so badly to express my father's turbulent road filled with heart attacks, cardiac arrests, hospital visits, ERs, congestive heart failure, medicine, medical costs and all the sadness and heartache that goes into this many years of not feeling well.  I also hoped to capture my father's incredible strength, fight and capacity for climbing the mountains and over coming all the health problems that he suffered.  I had every intension of explaining that my father was a good patient from the standpoint of the medical field.  He was compliant when it came to his medicine, resting and going to the doctors appointments. 
My father got dealt a really shitty deck of cards when it came to his heart.  It seems to me that he silently struggled when it came to how he felt on a daily basis and how he was doing emotionally.  He did not complain.  He never focused on the negative.  He always rose above and ensured that he was not feeling sorry for himself.  He was so incredibly amazing and he is a role model for everyone, especially for those dealt with shitty hands. 
Most people would never have been able to physically or emotionally go through what my dad did over the years with his heart, his health and his lifestyle.  He was considered disabled in his 40s.  The prime of his life, he was completely knocked down.  And he was again knocked down in his 50s and again in his 60s.  But he kept fighting to survive.
So I desperately wanted to tell this story of my father today so everyone who did not meet him would know that he has indeed made me understand the importance of health care and the need to improve upon patient safety, medical technology and efficiency in hospitals while lowering the cost of health care. 
I am afraid to admit that although my intentions were good, I broke down within two minutes of getting up in front of the room and could barely get through my talk.  I showed a picture of my father and me on the day of my wedding and it took me back to how special that day was for everyone.  I miss my father so very much and although I may not have made it through my planned out speech today, I am pretty sure I let the world know just how much my dad meant to me.

Miss you daddy!
Love
Katie