But before all that, we were just two sons…
Watching the men we looked up to slowly lose a war they didn't even know they were fighting.
Both our dads were strong. Godly. Ambitious.
Leaders in the home, in faith, in business.
But behind closed doors, something started to crush them.
My dad, Manny, was the rock of our family.
He was strong. Quick-witted. A real provider.
The kind of man who'd pray over you at night… and defend you without hesitation.
But slowly… silently… the man I once admired started to vanish.
He had less energy. More stress. Less presence. And more pain.
I couldn't explain it in words… But I could feel it in my bones:
"This isn't what a Christian father should be like…"
For years I watched him fade.
Until the spiral hit full speed:
First came the diagnosis: Diabetes.
Then heart disease… and eventually lliver failure.
18 hospitalizations in 18 months.
And then came the moment that REALLY broke us all: