Happy Birthday, Poppy!

My "Poppy"-- my grandfather, is 87 years old today. He's led an amazing life, and is someone who has been my constant source of guidance, support and inspiration.

As a young boy, my grandfather lived in the remote town of Hana on the island of Maui. Like his parents, he has always championed education and hard work. He was the first of his siblings to get a scholarship to the exclusive Kamehameha School—then, an all-boys Military Academy on the island of Oahu. Despite many challenges, my grandfather excelled at school and after his daughters were born, joined the U.S. Navy as a civilian engineer and traveled the world. My grandfather did not know the word failure. He faced great adversity in his life, but his good nature, extreme intelligence and ability to inspire those around him quickly brought him to the attention of his superiors. He was, and still remains, the youngest Chief Engineer in U.S. Naval history.

Nearly eight years ago my grandparents were walking from their car to the grocery store when they were struck by a moving car; the driver had lost control of her vehicle as she pulled through the parking lot. Witnesses say that my grandfather stepped in front of the moving vehicle to shield my grandmother and push her out of the way. She was clipped by the car, but escaped with severe sprains and bruises. My grandfather however, lay in a coma for nearly two months. When, against doctors' diagnoses he miraculously survived, we discovered that this once very active man who loved to garden, go on road trips and take long walks after dinner, was paralyzed and would be dependent on a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

No one thought my grandfather would survive the accident. We were told that there was no hope and that we should prepare for the worst. And yet, my grandfather, as he had done all his life, defied the odds. Even in his state of unconsciousness, he fought-- for his life, for his family... for everything that he believed in. When he was well enough to finally enter rehab, he never lost his faith, or his positive attitude. He never stopped trying, and his nurses would frequently comment on how hard he worked, how he always expressed gratefulness for those who helped him, and how his positive attitude was never failing. Six months later he was finally able to go home, and one day arrived at his doctor's office for a check-up-- and he walked in the door. Using a walker for support, nonetheless, he once again defied the odds. My grandfather said that he would walk again. And he did. His doctor was speechless, as even he could not conceive of my grandfather's will. And today, while he does primarily use a wheelchair, he continues to do his exercises and can move his legs, transfer himself and still practices walking with his walker at home.

Most people cite business giants or cultural leaders as their heroes. My hero is my grandfather. He has instilled in me a commitment to hard work and excellence and he remains my biggest source of inspiration. It was because of his influence that I went to college 3,000 miles away from home, that I have had the courage to live in and travel to different places and experience new things. It is his advice I consistently seek. Ultimately, it is through his breakdown of barriers that I know none.

I know that I'm blessed to have an amazing and supportive family; that I've gotten to know the unconditional love of a grandparent as a child should; and, even more so, gotten to grow up and know my grandparents as an adult. While you can appreciate the love that you feel as a child, you can't really appreciate the person until you are grown. And I'm extremely lucky to have three grandparents still in my life today-- to learn from them and their experiences has been invaluable to my development as a person.