About David Oliver Rietz, founder of DORway

"If something's broke, fix it. If you don't know how, learn. If you're not willing to learn, don't complain about it. If it can't be fixed, then accept it, and move on."

My father's was a very practical, positive and proactive attitude toward life. He pursued wellness with a singleness of purpose, changing his lifestyle and studying the specifics of his illness until he understood it equally as well as did his physicians - better even. When they first told him he'd exhausted his options, he investigated every possibility and presented new ones to his doctors, often sharing medical breakthroughs even before his doctors were aware them. Through his diligence, he gave himself more time.

Dad was an intelligent man; I'm certain he understood that death was a consequence of his disease, but he fully expected to live. I know he envisioned a victory. And yet, at the end, when the doctors came into his room to again discuss options, dad understood the situation clearly. And when faced with the decision to prolong his life without hope of recovery, he rejected the slow decline, and opted out of treatment, knowing his life would come to a swift end. As his daughter, I might have been angry that he was giving up, except that I knew my father.

Something broke and he tried to fix it. When he didn't know how, he sought to learn. But it couldn't be fixed. So he accepted it. And he moved on.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember something of his final moments. As difficult as it was, it was a gift that I was able to be at his side at the end, because I learned the ultimate lessons from my father - lessons in humility, faith, bravery and grace in the face of defeat. It's easy to win graciously; not so easy to lose with equal grace and dignity. Dad looked death squarely in the face and saluted.At ease soldier. Your battle is lost. But you are victorious in your death.- Tanya Anne Crosby

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