#22. Blake
John’s son Blake was expecting to finish highschool in 2020 so he could move on to a brighter future. He didn’t know what life would be like outside of West High in Billings, Montana, but knew that his graduation was going to be complicated.
Despite having his own problems, his father John was always there for him. And since Blake almost didn't make it to his first birthday, being there for him was something that John loved.
#21. Born Premature
Blake made everyone worry when he was born five months premature. John’s faith in his son never faded even after some doctors told him that Blake was not going to be able to breathe on his own.
Against all odds, Blake grew up to be a healthy boy but sadly, it was his father's health that started deteriorating. John started to experience some weird symptoms when Blake entered his teens.
#20. The Symptoms
John thought the symptoms would go away on their own, but as he got worse he decided to get an official diagnosis and in 2018, he got bad news. John was suffering from terminal brain cancer and he had 18 months to live. The first thing John thought about was his family’s well-being rather than his own.
It was impossible for him to be around for Blake’s adult life. At this point, it was likely that he wouldn't make it to see Blake graduate. Luckily, there was someone who was willing to lend a hand when John didn’t know what to do: Pam Rudolph.
#19. Blake’s Mom
John’s ex-wife and Blake’s mom, Pam Rudolph, was devastated about John’s diagnosis. She and John were bonded by their son despite not being married anymore. Pam reached out to John with Blake’s help, and then John told her about how he wanted to live until Blake’s graduation in May 2020.
Pam promised him that he would make it. Turns out she and Blake had a surprise. They arranged for John to visit West High and meet Blake after taking an exam in January. Pam got a lot of friends and family together, getting everything ready really fast.
#18. The School Visit
John entered the school and was very confused. He noticed that there were little folded cards on top of each seat. And before John could process this news, a special graduation ceremony was starting and a band was playing in the background.
John’s face filled with tears when he saw Blake walking down the aisle- he got to see his son graduate! Blake’s diploma was handed to him with a smile by the West High principal. He made sure everyone in the audience knew that Blake was one of the school’s best students.
#17. The Graduation
The principal asked various teachers to say some words about what Blake had achieved. And John’s heart was filled with every word. One teacher said: >” If he has to stay late to get something done, he stays late.”
The principal then asked John to stand up, and everyone applauded him. He walked to his son after thanking everyone. Then the two of them hugged in what Blake said to be “probably the best hug he’s ever given me.” No matter what would happen, they were there for each other in that moment.
#16. People
There was not even one dry eye in the room. John said when thinking about this surprise: “People will make you happy. Real happy.”
This gesture was a great way to make the most of John's time left on this earth. A similar deed was done by two girls, Ashlee and Kaylee.
#15. Ashlee and Kaylee
They were together wearing their beautiful wedding dresses and with their hair perfectly curled. For sure it was an unusual sight, as there was something important missing.
Turns out there weren’t any grooms for this event. Their mother Nicole later wrote: >“ We create memories, we recreate them, why not PRE-create a moment?” A well-dressed man entered when the doors to the venue opened, and so this “pre-created” moment began.
#14. The Pre-Created Moment
The room was filled with smiles and tears when Jason, the girls’ father arrived. This event could actually make anyone cry more than the real wedding. This “wedding” was just so the traditional father/daughter dance could take place. And Jason was reminded of what he would miss when he saw his girls as brides.
The Halberts decided to hire a photographer and rent out a venue because the sisters were told that the father/daughter dance at their weddings would be impossible, just a few months before. This whole idea was born after a phone call.
#13. The Phone Call
Back in April, Jason got a call from his neurosurgeon who had urgent news. Nicole explained on Facebook “That was the day we heard ‘brain tumor in the brain stem'”. Jason got through the month of chemo and radiation. The way that Nicole described the moment when they received his prognosis was “Your heart stops, you can’t hear, your breath becomes shallow.”
Jason had only 3 months to live. “We have raised two daddy’s girls and I was about the break their hearts,” Nicole wrote. They immediately thought about the girls’ wedding days. How could they walk down the aisle without their father on the most important days of their lives?
#12. Race Against Time
With her heart broken, Nicole wrote: “The dreams they had of their daddy walking them down the aisle had come to a screeching halt.” But even though the girls' dream of dancing with their dad was shattered, they weren’t ready to give up.
Even though they were years away from getting married, Nicole decided that they were going to get their dance despite being in a race against time. When the Halberts’ story became known, lots of people offered their services.
#11. Preparation
After the girls’ borrowed the perfect dresses and some friends said they were going to help with the hair and makeup, all that was left was someone to capture the moment. And a friend of Nicole’s who happened to be a photographer decided he was going to be the one to shoot the event.
Now there was just a thing to do: dance. Jason caught a glimpse of the future he wasn’t going to see when he danced with his daughters, and the three of them captured this moment in their hearts.
#10. The Wedding Days
They accepted their reality by bringing their wedding days to life. Nicole later wrote: “What we’ve been doing through this whole journey (is) trying to find the light among the darkness.” She thinks that by pre-creating this moment, they transformed something tragic into something great.
“When our girls look back on this chapter, I want them to remember not a journey of death, but a journey of life,” she later wrote. The Halberts hope that everyone that reads their story follows this advice: “Take the trip, snap the pictures, eat dessert first…make your days matter!”
#9. One Last Favor
Nicole asked one last favor to her Facebook friends and wrote: “(We) ask that anyone reading this researches Glioblastoma Multiforme and Leptomeningeal Disease,” hoping to make the necessity of pre-creating moments a need of the past.
The Halberts believe that even from the most unfortunate situations, good things can come. And even though Ashlee and Kaylee were able to dance with their dad, the Goralski family wasn’t so lucky.
#8. The Goralski Family
This family was normal as yours probably is. They used to bond over breakfasts and loved the Chicago Cubs. But there was a completely different situation beneath that surface.
The reason why their dad couldn’t play outside with their kids impacted Josh, Bethany, and Hannah. What prevented Mark from doing the things other dads could was a combination of Crohn’s Disease and Kidney Disease. Just for being there for his kids, Mark has had to fight.
#7. A True Fighter
If Mark would’ve been frustrated it would have been understandable, but he wasn’t. He always told his children that they should treat people with kindness. He, in more ways than one, was a true fighter.
In 2011 Mark discovered he needed a kidney transplant. And applying what he had learned from his father, his son Josh donated his kidney to him. And for a while, Mark’s health improved.
#6. Mark and his Kids
Mark always put his children first, despite his illness. He treated his kids to breakfast every morning after church and he and Josh still went to Cubs games. It was this close relationship to his kids that made what happened next more devastating.
The Gorlaskis learned that Mark needed another kidney in 2018. But he was too ill at this point to undergo the transplant surgery. He had only a few days left. Bethany said: “I watched him lay there and breathe, in and out, wondering when he was going to take his last breath-”
#5. Mark’s Lesson
Mark Goralski passed away in September 2018. And until the Goralsi sisters remembered their father’s advice, they struggled with their grief. Mark’s lesson was to always make someone else’s day better.
Bethany and Hannah came to a tough decision one month after their father’s death. According to Hanna: “My dad was always giving, he was always helping others.” they wanted to do the same at the hospital their father had been in.
#4.Their Decision
Even though they knew that organ transplants could lead to some complications like hypertension or preeclampsia, they considered donating a kidney to someone on the transplant list.
Despite the statistics: 3,894 Americans died while awaiting a kidney transplant in 2018, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. They understood that they had to do it. They had transplant surgeries one day apart and wondered what their father would’ve thought.
#3.The Surgeries
Bethany said that she “could definitely feel (her) dad’s presence in the room” the day of her surgery. And to Hannah, the surgeries were a way to honor their dad. Even though they donated anonymously, word of their good deed spread quickly.
All the people on the transplant list did was wait, and they didn’t receive good news often. That was until Hannah and Bethany’s story went viral. The sisters’ decision made some of their friends and family also donate kidneys, which resulted in a lot of lives being saved.
#2. The Kidney Recipients
The sisters’ story became public, and the people from the transplant list had something to tell Hannah and Bethany. Kidney recipient Julia Bauchwitz said: “It’s a gift. It’s unbelievable. I hope they know how special they are."
The kidney recipients had to thank the sisters in person, even though it isn’t customary for them to personally thank their donors. Ten kidney recipients were able to meet with their organ donors. Bethany later said: “We just want to make sure two less families have to go through what we went through.”
#1. A Father’s Memory
The survivors got to thank Hannah and Bethany for causing all those donations. Kidney recipient Christopher Heinz simply said: “We’re alive again.” Thanks to their brave act, unlike Mark, Heinz was able to play outside with his children.
Numerous lives were saved by what started as a tribute to their father’s memory, and more lives are going to be saved. Bethany said: “When I look down at my scars, I feel him nearby. This is for you, dad.”