Inspiring story budd. Sorry to hear about the hospitalization... Ive sent my fair share of hours in there over my years too. I also work far from my family too, granted not 18k km, only about 4000km but it sure does get tough sometimes, especially those days or moments where youre struggling with the distance... but family must come first always, and a mans gotta do what he must for his family :D
Maybe steemit will allow me one day to make up for all my lost time :):)
Digger