Ben, a recently widowed father, guided his only daughter through the fight of her life. In December 2012, only months after her mother passed away, Lauren was diagnosed with Lemierre’s Syndrome, which severely affected her lungs and circulatory system. After she checked into the Flagstaff Medical Center with what started as merely a bad cold, Ben drove all the way from Texas to northern Arizona to be by her side. When he arrived, he found his daughter intubated and in the ICU. Lauren was soon flown to Tucson, where she could receive specialized care at UAMC.

Over the next 40 days, Lauren fought through complications, invasive procedures, blood transfusions, and myriad medical tests with her dad rooting for her every step of the way. He stayed by her bedside for countless hours talking to her, holding her hand during brief moments of consciousness to let her know he was there, even playing music from her iPod around the clock. He read all the comments to her from well-wishers posting on his blog, which updated family members. As she was unable to speak at the time, he communicated with her via a white board. Ben steadfastly poured positive thoughts and prayers on his ailing daughter to help speed her recovery, including inviting Aunt Christine in to paint Lauren’s toenails (dark blue).

For 39 nights, Ben stayed at the Ronald McDonald House, where he was able to take comfort by being in a place surrounded by other families with similar experiences and was encouraged to take care of himself so he could be strong for his daughter.

In mid-January, Lauren was finally well enough to make the trip back home.
To Ben and loving fathers like him everywhere, Happy Father’s Day.