For years our apartment complex did not have handicap parking. Once it became available, finding convenient parking was no longer a problem for my parents. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

The coldness of doctors' offices can make anyone tense up and become uneasey. Nyack, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

While clutching his rosaries, my father rests after a long night at the hospital. Suffern, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

To make things easier on my father, my mother would often help him eat during one of his more recent stays at the hospital. Suffern, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago and Luz Santiago.

I have watched my father, Zoilo, battle cancer since my high school graduation in 1998, but at that time I didn’t know it. After the graduation, I found out that he postponed his prostectomy so he could attend the ceremony. He served in the military under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, whose regime is considered one of the bloodiest in the Americas. His military career helped shape him into the strong person that he is. After retiring from the military, he moved our family to the United States where for more than 20 years he worked maintenance in various hospitals for the state of New York. In those years I never saw my father take a sick day, until his health began to take a turn for the worse and he was forced to finally retire. In 2009 after his second battle with Cancer, my older sister Ingrid lost her fight with the disease. We were 8 children and she was his youngest daughter. This hit him hard, and at times we were afraid that the depression of losing his daughter would cause him to give up fighting his own battle. Around that time I became his primary caretaker accompanying him to all his doctor’s appointments and spending time with him while my mother and brothers worked.  While having a conversation one day, he let me know that before he was no longer around he would like to see me finish school and get a degree. I promised I would but never acted on it until a few years later when I enrolled in a community college and got my associate’s degree. He was happy for me and afterwards I made the decision to continue my studies. The following year I made the difficult decision to leave my father and family behind and move to California to continue my education. The decision proved to be difficult because not only was my father’s dealing his 3rd bout with Cancer but he went into complete kidney failure and now required 3 days of dialysis every week. It was hard leaving him in this state, but harder leaving behind someone who for the past 4 year

My father was never a fan of needles, but in recent years he has recieved so many injections that they do not bother him anymore. Suffern, New York, 2014.

When my father's lungs fill up with water due to his kidney problems, it usually leads to pneumonia, which is why he ends up hospitalized and requires constant breathing medication. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

When I visited my father during a recent stay at the hospital, he could barely eat. After a couple of days he regained enough strength not only to eat but also to feed himself. Suffern, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

My younger brother Alain works long days, but always made sure to stop by, visit, and help out with my father whenever the opportunity arose. Suffern, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago and Alain Santiago.

We tried to convince my father for a few years that he should use a cane to help him walk. After some encouragement from family members and doctors he finally opened up to the idea of using one. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago and Luz Santiago.

Having a home health aid to help with my father became necessary with the direction that my father's health is heading. Pomona, New York. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

When I was younger, my father would always whistle while in the bathroom. Once he began having difficulty breathing, the whistling stopped. It's one of the things I miss most now that I don't hear it anymore. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

My mother has always been everyone's nurse, and with my father's health in steady decline, she in turn became his nurse. Pomona, New York, 2013. In photo: Zoilo Santiago, Luz Santiago, and Emma Santiago,

A makeshift alter lies next to my father's bed, where he used to pray several times a day. Pomona, New York, 2013.

Whenever I was sick, my father would always have a home remedy for me to take. He says drinking certain teas before he goes to bed helps him sleep better at night. Pomona, New York, 2013. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

No longer able to stand on his own, my father uses a bath chair in the shower. Pomona, New York, 2013.

Besides the bathing chair, my mother also helps my father in the shower. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago and Luz Santiago.

My father has 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He loves spending time with them whenever possible, but he no longer has the energy to keep up with them. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago, Emma Santiago.

Often times it is still dark out when my father goes to his early morning dialysis appointments. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

Lately, after dialysis, my father's arm tends to bleed more than usual, requiring extra bandages. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

In the Dominican Republic, you can find people playing domiones at all times of the day. In the States, it is rare to go to a Dominican family event without seeing people playing games of dominoes. Pomona, New York, 2013.

All the commotion going on around my father does not stop him from dozing off. Pomona, New York, 2013. In photo: Zolio Santiago, Julio Santiago, Lisette Santiago, Vanessa Tejada, and Gregorio Santiago.

"Yo no se que el haria sin mi." ("I don't know what he would do without me.") Pomona, New York, 2013. In photo: Zoilo Santiago amd Luz Santiago.

My father got his strong character from all the years that he served in the Armed Forces in the Dominican Republic. Mamaroneck, New York, 2013. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

"Tirarle foto a esos animales y a mi no." ("Take picures of the animals, not of me.") West Haverstraw, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago.

After my father spent some time in the hospital, my niece Emma was happy to finally see him. Pomona, New York, 2014. In photo: Zoilo Santiago and Emma Santiago.