Cody’s Special Birthday Message for Her Dad

A special birthday message for my dad. Today, he celebrates his 75th birthday.  And to keep up with how old he is... I just add 40 years to my age!  That's right, he was 40 when I was born.  I'm the youngest of 3 girls and I'd definitely say I'm a daddy's girl.

My dad lives about 2 1/2 hours away... so I won't be able to celebrate the day with him.  But I did make sure to give him a call early this morning to wish him a happy birthday. And NOT singing 'Happy Birthday'... because, I'm no singer, that's for sure.  From the sound of it, he had no big plans today.  He did, however, go to one of his favorite places for lunch yesterday... Red Robin.  I definitely take after my dad in our love for cheese burgers!

Something I haven't shared about on air, or online... We are extremely grateful to have my dad here with us today.  Earlier this year, my dad was sick.  His first doctor's appointment didn't tell us much... just thought it was a cold or something.  He's had some heart issues in the past, so it was important to get his checked on.  Well, a few days later, he had a fever.  My mom took him to another doctor.  For some reason... that doctor made the decision to do a chest x-ray. And we'll forever be grateful she did!

On the x-ray, they noticed a small mass.  This set a lot of things into motion.  Many calls, appointments, tests... He was diagnosed with lung cancer.  A small tumor in the top lobe of his right lung.  It was a scary time for all of us. For my whole life, I don't remember my dad being sick a lot.  And never in the hospital.  And being so far away from them during this time was hard.

After many tests and consultations, they were referred to a surgeon.  And I was happy to know that he was highly recommended by the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Newnan.  But he just so happens to now be located right here in Augusta! So back in April, my dad was scheduled for surgery, where they would remove the top lobe of his lung.

My parents came up that week and my dad went in for surgery that Tuesday morning.  My mom, sisters and I waited anxiously at Augusta University during the procedure.  Once he was finally out of the surgery, we were relieved to hear the surgeon say he'd removed all of the tumor and my dad's lungs were "as pink as a 5-year-olds" according to the surgeon.  And he jokingly told us not to tell my dad.  You see, my dad did smoke for YEARS.  But he'd quit smoking years prior to all of this.

After surgery, we spent the day laughing, reminiscing and enjoying each other's company.  We were all surprised at how well he seemed to feel, despite a pretty major surgery.  In fact, the whole healing process went really well for him.  He really never experienced a lot of pain, which we are truly grateful for!

At his follow up, he got a "cancer-free" diagnosis.  They will be doing a few rounds of chemo just as a precaution... but overall, the prognosis is great.

So, today is not only special because it's his birthday... but we are so glad we get to keep him around for a long time!  And we can keep on driving him crazy.  I love you, daddy!  Hope you have a great day!