For the fortunate ones of us, this is true. To have a parent, or in my case parents, that embody the values and characteristics that you aspire to... they become our heroes.



For the first decade of my life (that I recall) our family was a tight knit group of 5 that travelled the world together. From short road trips, Monaghan to Dublin, or the various long journeys across the planet -Ireland to Flin Flon and Flin Flon to Goa through Hong Kong or Bombay ... and of course the long road trips across Canada, my Dad was there leading the way. He accepted challenged without fear, without hesitation, without doubt...and with a work ethic matched only by his partner in life, and an altruistic manner that provided the foundation for their children to flourish.



These are some of his characteristics that I’ve aspired to:

People have told me that I am very much like my father ... and I was proud to wear that badge ... sometimes it meant I was stubborn or stoic or frugal ... but many times it referred to our competitiveness and our drive to move things along - to get things done - to make a difference.



My Dad made a difference in thousands of peoples lives ... he was a surgeon, and general physician and we’ve heard hundreds of stories from patients, friends, family and Papa himself about the cases and traumas that defined his life.   Some were gruesome and difficult to hear with poor outcomes, some were intellectually challenging and many were positive stories ... ‘See this scar’ people would say “your dad , Dr. Moraes, he saved ...”



The first story that comes to mind is the Irish farmer who sawed off his thumb and came to the emergency department.  Dad was able to sew a finger onto the place of the thumb, so the farmer could continue with his livelihood.

Appendectomies were common ... Dad had small hands (compared to the Irish Doctors he trained with) so he was revered as a surgeon for making small incisions .. these small incisions were also a huge plus for women needing C-sections.



The stories go on and on - of friends whose arms were in casts steadied by my Dad or people’s dislocated shoulders or hips ...

He told us the story of the super human effort to put a 250lb man’s hip back into place. Later in life, his experience gave him the ability diagnose and solve medical problems confidently and he was usually correct... his knowledge of anatomy and physiology is unmatched. Growing up, we sat as his medical receptionists in his office in Flin Flon and witnessed his impact on the community there for over 25 years.



He was also an uncle, a brother, a grand-father, but to me my Dad was super human.  When we were little kids he seemed to have super human strength with ‘big muscles’ that could throw us up into the air or open jam jars that were impossible to open. He was also an amazing ping-pong player (for a 50 year old) with an unorthodox style. Once we were older he seemed to have super intellect - a genius in strategy games and a great adversary we’d spend hours playing Chess, Monopoly, and CARDS. He loved cards (Uno, Bridge, Seven hands and Poker), he always seemed to hold the aces- but it was his thoughtful humming while concentrating on the match that disarmed his competitors during those epic battles. 



I’m told that Dad and I shared some physical characteristics as well, not the super human part but an aptitude for sport ... Papa was a first class footballer (Soccer player). He played for his school, college and in Goa he and his brother were well known as ‘tough’ (Cuncolcorts),fast and elite sportsman with particular talents as soccer and field hockey players.  He used his sporting prowess as a youngster to facilitate his ultimate goal to become a physician.  A priest in his school and his brother made connections for him to move to Ireland to get medical training.   Once he started down that path, his devotion to medicine took over and I never saw him play soccer ... although I knew he loved the sport.  We had a chance to visit the old Wembley Stadium in London 2 years ago and he knew of all the old historic matches that were featured. Though I’m sure he would have preferred to see a Manchester City tour.

Papa’s soccer team was Manchester City (back in the 60’s and onwards)

Papa always cheered for the underdog, the little guys and the long shot...

Jets vs Oilers , Brazil vs Argentina or the horse that’s not on the card... He did have an appreciation of talent and watched a lot of sports over the last 30 years and probably could have accurately predicted the future teams or tennis stars that would go on to win tournaments and championships.



All heroes make sacrifices to benefit those around them ... Mine gave up his beloved sports, a warm climate, and his homeland in order to raise his children in a place where opportunities are indeed boundless . There is certainly joy in seeing your offspring succeed - I know he was proud of his children and grandchildren. 



We cherish our heroes and sometimes we forget to celebrate them while they are with us ...and it becomes a void within us when they are gone.

I will miss my Dad ... but I will continue to follow, as best I can, the positive light that he brought to the many people that benefited from his hard work, generosity and altruism. We love you Dad - you were one of a kind.