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- These are the heartwarming stories of dads who have left an indelible mark on their children’s lives.
- Here are three stories of amazing dads who mean the world to their children.
- “My dad was complicated, but his last act was to make sure that his baby girl was safe.”
Many exceptional dads go the extra mile to create lasting memories, provide unwavering support, and shower their children with love and guidance. These remarkable people embrace their responsibilities as fathers and embark on extraordinary journeys to ensure their children’s happiness, growth, and success.
These are the heartwarming stories of dads who have left an indelible mark on their children’s lives.
‘His last act was to make sure that his baby girl was safe’
I’ll start with my own story of my dad who died to save my life. We were on holiday in Knysna with our family friends and all was going well… until I went out for one last swim.
Suddenly, I realised that I couldn’t feel the sand under my feet anymore and that the tide has changed. I looked up and saw my dad standing on the shore. I shouted that I needed help and, without batting an eyelid, my dad jumped in to help me.
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He tried pulling me out and pushing me towards the shore, but I wasn’t a strong swimmer and was tired from fighting against the water. Then, these two Frenchmen who were lifeguards saw us and came to help. They managed to get me out of the water, but my dad slipped behind a rock. He was holding on for dear life while I ran up the bank to our bakkie where my mom was talking to my friend’s mom. I told her my dad was in danger.
We ran back down. My legs were like jelly and my heart was racing. When we got back, my dad was nowhere to be seen – he got tired and let go of the rock. The NSRI arrived and their amazing team immediately went into the water to find him, but they found nothing.
We then went walking down the shore to try and find him. Eventually, my mom started screaming that she could see him. The NSRI rushed in to get him. They tried to revive him for what felt like a lifetime, but was probably 20 minutes. The paramedic turned to my mom and said there was nothing more they could do and she screamed a scream that I can still hear in my head to this day, 16 years later.
My dad was complicated, but his last act was to make sure that his baby girl was safe.
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‘My dad stayed up with me all night when I thought I was dying’
“He was my primary caregiver. My mom always says if he could have breastfed me, he would have grown tits,” says Shann, 29, about her dad.
“My mom is wildly abusive, and my dad and I have been through a lot together,” she says.
Her dad called her one day when he was 60 and apologised for choosing her mom’s side and perpetuating the abuse further and letting her mom treat Shann badly.
“He’s standing by her side now that she’s sick, even though she was abusive to him too.
“I guess the story that explains it all was when I had swine flu in 2008. I was dying. I was very unwell (not the normal kind, the very real kind). I woke my mom up because I was so scared and couldn’t breathe.
“And she looked at me and said, ‘If you die, I will need a good night of sleep for tomorrow, so wake your father’.
“He sat with me all night. Told me all about electrons and protons and atoms and Newton’s laws. He made it all so understandable that even a foggy sick confused 14-year-old could grasp the concepts,” says Shann.
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“He never once complained about being a dad and having to do stuff like that. Which I know is the bare minimum, but also, I mean the standards of parenting I expected were low. I made mistakes, and he would fetch me when I was drunk in the middle of the night. There was also the time that I locked myself out of my flat in Potch and he drove four hours to get me the spare key. He gave me hell for it, but he still did it.”
‘I was nearly kidnapped and my dad saved me’
Frank’s dad was a bank manager in Joburg back in the early ’90s and some dangerous things happened to him.
“My dad was once nearly driven off the road. Two men tried to hijack my dad. My dog was with him that day and tried to go for the attackers. They shot my dog. I only found out as an adult that it wasn’t because they needed a guard dog at work,” says Frank who is now 35.
“But the real story of his heroism is one day when I was six. We were leaving the bank and suddenly a man came up behind me and grabbed me. I was terrified. He told my dad that he needed to withdraw cash and give it to him or else he would hurt me,” says Frank.
Frank’s dad covertly showed him to stomp on his attacker’s feet with the hard cowboy boots he was wearing at the time. Taken by surprise, the attacker let go of Frank and his dad managed to knock the man to the floor and subdue him.
“He picked me up to see if I was okay and gave me a hug, but the guy who attacked me managed to run away. My dad died when I was 17, but I will always remember him as a hero and willing to do anything to protect me and his family.”