In my Mother’s Day post back in May, I promised a shout out to dads come June! So, as we celebrate Father’s Day this coming Sunday, I want to acknowledge all the dads in the DOC. For years, you have connected others, shared your stories and supported one another — online and in your backyards. This week, we’ll recognize multiple dads in the DOC, who play an influential role in the community, as well as in the lives of their kids. I reached out to Manny Hernandez, Bennet Dunlap, George Simmons, and Scott Benner to ask them each one question about fatherhood.

To kick off the week, I’d like to start with one of the community’s most influential advocates — Manny, a.k.a. @askmanny. As some of you may know, Manny is a co-founder of TuDiabetes, a community of people touched by diabetes, run by the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF). He does so much for the diabetes community, both online and offline. But, in the midst of juggling his work and writing books, Manny is a devoted, loving father and husband. For our DOC Father’s Day Tribute series, I asked Manny about his proudest moment as a dad. See what he had to say below:

Manny Hernandez

Q. What’s your proudest moment as a dad?

It is hard to pick a single proud moment as a dad, because my 7-year old son has given me so many of them. But if I can pick one that is diabetes-related and one that isn’t, I’d say:

Diabetes-related: In 2010, I vividly recall a day when I was sick with a cold. I told my son: “Papi, I don’t feel well.” And he went to bring me my glucose meter. He assumed I didn’t feel well because I was low.

Non-Diabetes Related: My son is so NOT as shy as I used to be when I was a kid! Recently he took the stage in an all-school meeting at his elementary school and danced super-well to Michael Jackson’s “Bad”. I was proud of his performance, but was even more proud of the fact that he didn’t seem the least bothered to be performing in front of several hundred people. It was amazing!

Manny shared a painting his son created for him,
showing Manny and his insulin pump. 

Thanks so much for sharing Manny and “job well done” for being such an influential advocate in the diabetes community. Your passion and leadership truly shines in everything you do. Here’s wishing you a magical Father’s Day!

Check back tomorrow for another Father’s Day post!

All the best, Laura

Disclosure: This blogger received no compensation for this post. All opinions contained in this post reflect those of the blogger, and not of sanofi-aventis U.S., its employees, agencies or affiliates.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 5:00 am and is filed under General, Lifestyle. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.