My name is Tyler Wilson and i am almost 7 years old. I am sitting writing this letter (with the help of my mom) to tell you how great my dad is. When my mom asked me why i thought my dad was the best, i said there is no reason, he just is! Actually, i would like to tell you exactly why he is so special. My dad's name is Paul Divitt Wilson (i have the same middle name) and he just turned 30 years old. My dad has diabetes and he has since he was 11 years old. He has to take 6 needles a day to take insulin (ouch!). My dad cares about me so much and did even before i was born. You see he didn't know if he wanted children because he didn't want to take the chance that i might have diabetes. He didn't want me to go through what he has to. But after talking to doctors they assured him the chances were slim and well here i am! But recently my family experienced the worst of diabetes. For the past 2 1/2 years my dad has been going through laser surgeries because he bleeds behind his eyes from the diabetes. But he remained an otherwise healthy man. My mom and dad decided to buy their first home and moved from the city to the country in August of 1999. But a month later my dad had to have major eye surgery because his retina detached from his eyeball and he couldn't see out of it. Because of the surgery he became really ill and he couldn't work for 2 1/2 months. But through all of this he remained my loving, caring, funny daddy that always has time for me. When he could play with me he would but he always had time for cuddles and laughs no matter how sick he felt. My mom kept working long hours because we needed the money and would come home and then look after my dad and I. When my dad got better he went back to work even though the doctors told him not to. They told him not to lift anything over 5lbs (he was a renovator) because it could happen again. But Christmas was coming and he knew we needed the money. That year I got spoiled as usual but my mom and dad didn't buy anything for each other and I didn't have any money to buy them anything either. Things went well for a while even though my dad was now blind in that eye. Then on Easter monday 2000 early in the morning my dad woke up and he could barely see out of his other eye. So we went through surgery again but my dad could not return to work this time. He did get a limited amount of sight back in that eye and that was enough to make him happy. My mom and dad have been together 10 years but were not married, so they decided to get married on August 19,2000 because my dad wanted to be able to see my mom come down the aisle. This was a busy time and I was so excited we were having a wedding day. Everybody was so happy until 9 days before the wedding. My dad woke up and the last bit of vision he had was gone. He was now completely blind. My mom was devastated but my dad remained happy and continued to make us smile. Not only that but he had to have emergency surgery 3 days after the wedding and their honeymoon plans had to be changed. So they got married but my dad was only able to see a faint outline of my mom coming down the aisle in her wedding dress but all details about the wedding went unseen for my dad. My mom and dad spent two nights in Niagara Falls and drove back Tuesday morning right to Oshawa Hospital and spent the remainder of their honeymoon there. Through all of this my dad still had a smile on his face and never let me see that he was scared. The day after he got out of the hospital he opened a sugar free food store for diabetics hoping he could help other people not get to the stage he had with his diabetes. The grand opening was held with a charity bbq to the diabetes association as well as proceeds from the sales in the store going to the CDA as well. He also offered a 10% discount on a daily basis to all CDA members. My dad ran the store on his own from cash to ordering to stocking shelves all the while not able to see a thing. We live in a small town and business wasn't enough to keep it going and my mom couldn't afford to support the house and the store. We had to close it New Years Eve. But once again dad still smiled and said if I made the difference in one person's life by showing them what happens when you don't look after yourself, then it was worth it. It's been 10 months now since my dad went blind and it still doesn't stop him. He now has a talking computer where he can go on the internet and the computer reads everything on the screen to him. If I have homework and I need help my dad can scan it so the computer will read to him so he can help me. My dad also came to my school to talk to two grade two classes who were learning about senses. He taught them what it is like to live without one of the them. The kids thought he was cool and ask me stuff about him all the time. Sometimes I get sad for my dad and he asks my whats wrong so I tell him and he makes me happy again. But I don't ever remember having to make him happy, he just always is. Just in the past month my dad has put a new sink in our bathroom, laid a new floor in our house, put together our BBQ and built a dog pen in our backyard. Nothing stops my dad! The only time I see my dad get upset is when he talks about money. We haven't had much since it is only my mom working but dad always seems to have some for me when I know he does without. I can't remember the last time my dad got something he wanted and my mom tells me there won't be much money for father'day so that's why I'm writing this letter. In my mind, there is no man in the world better than my daddy. He may not be able to read to me or go bike riding but when it comes to love I couldn't get more. He may not be able to see my smile but he knows it's there when he finds my tickle spot or tells me how proud he is of me or when I score a goal at hockey. He always makes light of his blindness and he'll keep you laughing for hours with his new found blind jokes -like- a blind guy walks into a bar with his guide dog - he picks the dog up by the tail and starts spinning the dog around in the air. The bartender walks over and asks him what he thinks he's doing. He replies - I'm taking a look around. This is my favorite joke. My dad likes people to ask questions about his blindness so he can educate them. He also said that he doesn't want to be treated any differently than he was before. Anyways, I feel my dad is the best in the world to have overcome all he has in such a short time at such a young age and still love life the way he does. For once I would just like him to have some money to spend on himself and enjoy spending it without having to worry about it. I can only hope you read this letter and feel the same way about my dad that I do. He's the one, the only and the best and I love him infinity (our little joke). Happy Father's Day Daddy!! I LOVE YOU!!! (oh yeah so does mommy)