A Letter From Dad

My dad emailed yesterday, after calling in tears. He is deeply moved by all of the generosity, and compassion, and felt compelled to share his feelings on the blog. I love him so much, and am happy to oblige!

Hi Jess, 

Humility to a new level!

Greetings to one and all, my daughter has graciously allowed me to interject some thoughts on her blog. This is prompted by the results of the GoFundMe (instigated by some wonderful friends of my little Cricket).

Bonnie and I just returned from an arduous trip. It was difficult, but full of beauty. The goal was to procure medicine for Jessica in another country, a country that is extremely poor. The beautiful souls we met, who helped us, did it with joy in their hearts, but not much more.

Then, when we returned, we witnessed what has happened with Jessica's GoFundMe and I about fainted. As I scrolled down the donation list, I could not hold back my tears. I know that many who will read this don't know me, so let me give some background. I spent a year in Vietnam 1966 and then tested the hippie world for a few years before a stint in a vegetarian lifestyle. On to logging, trucking cross country, then to Alaska and working on the oilfield in the Arctic for 14 years. I was not a man prone to tears, but in the last two weeks, I have probably drained 4 or 5 gallons of them. It's been a good cleansing, but has reached a point where I am having trouble shutting it down.

My first 36 years were defined by the fact that I was a great consumer of spirits. From that haze, I have been a very selfish and arrogant individual for a large portion of my 70 years. So through the travails of my daughter over the last 6 and 1/3 years and the incredible patience and forbearance of my beautiful and generous wife, I am finally learning to change. 

I thank all of you for helping "my little girl". I cannot express the gratitude and love that I feel; you have left me as a pool of Jello. There are so many of you generous, loving, and wonderful souls. I need you to know that if there is ever something I can do to help you, it would be an honor.

Also one last thing - Claire-Darth-Kendrick-Kat-Isabel (stars of My Last Days) - I could never thank you enough for sharing your unbelievable stories and your sweet spirits. And Jessica, how such a wonderful and beautiful young lady can be related to me, I do not know. You have all inspired me to be true and genuine going forward. The six stories that are shared by "My Last Days" on The CW Network has filled me gratitude. 

God Bless all of you (God being of your flavor) mine being JC.

Love and hugs to all of you,
Bobaloo

Extended Version Episode Online Now

Oh my god, what an emotional 24 hours. We watched our episode (and Kendrick's too!) last night, and even on the third time, yep, I cried. Then, this morning when we watched the longer version on the website, and you guessed it. Cried again. But it's so lovely!!! From the music, the editing, reliving that beautiful wedding, uuuuuugh, it gets me every time. I am so filled with gratitude to everyone, for all of the help that we continue to receive.

The other day Dan and I were driving, in a rush, and we had no traffic, and I was telling him that I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I feel like everything always works out, or that no matter what, we can find fun in any situation. Gold dust floats around our life, maybe it's dancing angels overhead - I hope so, I like the mental image. I don't know how we have been this blessed. Dan smiled as I was laughing in amazement of our continued fortune, and then he said, "You're right, except for that small brain tumor thing." And I almost wet my pants. Hahaha! Oh right. That.

I've embedded the full version of our episode below (last night's was an 18 minute clip), the full one is 35 minutes. If you would like to use a link to watch in a larger window (which makes a lot of sense), you can click HERE. The longer version helps fill in the backstory, and ongoing details. I love watching everyone, their faces when they show up to the "birthday" party, and the intimate interviews with my parents and Dan. Those are the tearjerkers. What a lovely life I get to live, surrounded by these beautiful souls.

The Premier

Meet the incredible cast of #mylastdays Kendrick, Jessica, Kat, Darth, Claire and Isabel. Tonight, we will make TV history as over the next three nights at 9 PM a @thecw, a massive television network is taking a chance in its programming and airing this three night special for one purpose... To inspire. I can't wait for you all to meet these six real life super- heroes. Please tell your friends, watch with people you love, and enjoy the journey because "you don't have to find out you're dying to start living" - Zach Sobiech. Here we go!!

A photo posted by Justin Baldoni (@justinbaldoni) on Aug 17, 2016 at 7:09am PDT

I could not be more proud to be a part of this series! I CAN NOT WAIT for you to see these souls, their stories, this amazingness. I am exhausted, my brain is killing me. We were up visiting with everyone from the premier until just past midnight. So I drugged myself and woke up at noon. That's laughable in itself! I never do that! My head has been splitting since I woke up, so I'm still in bed trying to see what I can take to not make my head feel like it's gelatinizing. I don't think I even made sense when with what I just wrote. The pressure in my head brings me back to the three different surgery experiences. Frick if I'm not losing my mind in pain.

Enough of my complaining. You guys, Justin & his dad Sam Baldoni, Ahmed and Farhoud and the whole Wayfarer family who produced this series have been so gracious. This experience has been more than a dream, more than a gift, more than we could ever have asked for. They produced these stories with pure grace, and truth, showcasing our individual stories perfectly. You will be uplifted, and inspired by these people. I can't even believe, I am not worthy, that I am included in this caliber of humans. Please share the information about this series, watching their stories has completely changed my life!!! I want that for you too!!!

I had reservations, very nervous as the premier and airing of the show neared, unsure if it would depict us accurately, but of the 18 minutes that I've seen so far, it is better than I could have anticipated. Just beautiful. The first episodes air on the CW tonight at 9:00 pm, then again at the same time tomorrow and my episode will be Friday night. I. CAN. NOT. WAIT.

We have a viewing party tonight in Santa Monica, which should show the full episodes, I believe, while you all will be able to watch the first two episodes. That should be Darth Vader, and Claire. I swear, you will LOVE it!!

Okay, Jess, shut it down and rest. Love you all, and thank you for spreading the word. Although the name My Last Days suck, it does not depict these souls whatsoever - you will be happily surprised. Justin did not disappoint!!