As many of you know, my father, Thomas Renaud, had an emergency open heart surgery a week ago. What started as a relatively simple and safe procedure went terribly wrong and his heart began to fail in the operation room. The surgeon came in to about 20 members of the Renaud family waiting for good news - only to have to tell us that my father would not live longer than two hours and to say our goodbyes. Several days and surgeries later, he has defied all odds and makes small steps towards improvement every day. He remains on full body life support at Tampa General Hospital in severely critical condition.

If there’s anything that dad ever taught me, it’s to be there for others whenever given the opportunity. I’ve yet to meet someone with a greater sense of community than his. Dad has encouraged me to love others unconditionally, molding much of who I am today. It is because of him that I’ve decided to dedicate my life to a profession of helping others be happy. His jokes and optimism have always made us smile even in the most difficult of times. For those that do not know him personally, his line of work has always been that of an honorable man. He wanted to serve in the army and be a police officer when he was young - eventually working several years as a volunteer fire-fighter as well as in construction. Before this emergency, he was serving over 9 years to defend our safety as a correctional officer in prison! In other words, most of his time and energy has been spent saving, creating, and protecting. All of his life, he has exhausted his own resources in an attempt to be there for others.

Many beloved friends and family have reached out to us wanting to help in any way they can and I’m here to tell everyone how to do that. Our long-term hopes are that he will get better and walk out of this hospital alive and well. However, he remains in extremely critical condition and it is very important that he has the support and care of his family. We must sign consent forms for treatment and remind him everyday that he is not alone in this fight; I have to be here for my daddy. If (when) he does recover, he will not be able to work for several months if at all. We are very concerned that we will not be able to afford a variety of his needs – medications, living expenses, and medical bills. Therefore, we sincerely ask that you consider helping us in any way that you can - whether that’s donating to his recovery, liking and sharing this post, or simply keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.

If my father’s life were a metaphor, he has spent every day giving away pieces of his heart’s strength to those who needed it. Eventually, his heart gave in to these demands and could no longer sustain itself without help. Now, it is up to us to give him the love that he’s given us and put the pieces back together.

Please be a part of this effort with the Renaud family and donate to this link: https://www.paypal.me/ThomasERenaud