A hero is someone who overcomes some kind of a struggle or challenge, and my hero is my father, Mark Chepenik. Last year, he had to endure one open heart surgery to fix his heart condition. His heart was off rhythm and was impeding his ability to exercise for even a short period of time. While being interviewed, Mark said, “Not being able to exercise was horrible. Every time I tried to exercise, I had to sit down after about five minutes.” Before he went through this struggle, he had been very inactive and did not eat healthy food too often. The doctors believe this could have contributed to his heart issues. Reasons that make him my hero are that he is very brave, kind, and caring. Ever since his surgery, he has completely changed his life around and has begun to eat much healthier, and exercises for about one hour each morning. Mark Chepenik has many heroic traits and characteristics that helped him overcome his struggle.

There are many reasons of why Mark Chepenik is my hero. First, he is similar to the hero Odysseus in the fact that they are both extremely brave when confronted by struggles or challenges. An example of this is that Mark was not scared when told by his doctor that he had to undergo open heart surgery. Also, he is kind to his family, friends, and anyone who he does not know. An example of this is that he helped a complete stranger who was homeless by driving him to the nearest fast food restaurant and buying him a meal so the man would not go hungry that night. The last reason that makes him my hero is that he is very caring towards others. An example of this is that just a few hours before his open heart surgery, his son had broken his ankle in a bike accident.
During his interview, Mark said, “On that day I was so worried about my son and what had happened to him, that I almost completely forgot about my surgery.” This shows that he is very caring towards his family.

Mark Chepenik is very brave, kind, and caring towards other people. He is a very strong minded and strong hearted person. He will do anything to help his family, even while he is in need of help himself. “I always like to think of others first, before I think of myself,” Mark claimed in an interview. He is always keeping his heart open to other people. All of these traits and characteristics are what makes him a hero. Not just any hero, but my hero.