I have always enjoyed being a hands-on dad for my children – changing nappies when they were young, feeding them, reading a bedtime story, updating myself with characters from their TV shows, listening to their genre of music. But as a surgeon, I find it hard to spend as much time as I would like with my children.

There are many times when I have to miss out on their small and big moments. Their go-to parent for everything is their mother – but perhaps that is true for most children. There have been so many occasions where I could not come home on time, activities I could not participate in, holidays I couldn’t be home.

So, when my children gave me a hug and a handmade card each on Father’s Day, my son said “Dada, I want to be a surgeon like you when I grow up, specifically a cancer surgeon!”, and my daughter chimed in “Me too.” my heart overflowed.

I must be doing something right!