the council now formed snapped into action. you are safe now, don t worry. in the months to come, each man assumed his role and began making special connections to eden and taibi. we sat down and were talking about who these men are. they were going through it and saying, there is tractor jack and he took us skiing and there is chocolate chip david, because he likes to make chocolate chip cookies with us. already, in their minds, each of them has a personality that they already associate with them. it s amazing. you can hear more about bruce s extraordinary story this weekend on the special edition of sanjay gupta and the saturday morning right here on cnn. it s so amazing to be surrounded with such amazing people in their life. that s so great, if the worse were to happen, his daughters would be well taken care of.
have plenty of opportunities in their lives. they will have each other but they may not have me. they may not have their dad. will you be there dad? reporter: sick, scared and worried, bruce wrote that letter to six lifelong friends, men who knew his voice, who could be fathers for his daughters. he decided to call them the council of dads. by late july, weeks after his cancer diagnosis, bruce took the letter 200 miles north to vermonts the home of his childhood friend, jeff. he said to me, i want to find some time to spend alone with you. reporter: nothing could have prepared him for what bruce was about to ask. of course, without skipping a
heart beat, i said, bruce, absolutely yes. i was saying, will you just be there. will you take this one side of me and will you convey them that idea? jeff would capture bruce s adventureous side, his philosophy, get off the beaten track. that s the spirit bruce wanted jeff to teach eden and taidi. i will get them out of their comfort zone and help them to see the world. reporter: it would take five more men to complete the council. childhood buddy, ben edwards, to show the girls where their dad came from. college roommate, matt stier, to help them live life with passion. poet, josh layman, to make them take time to reflect on life. business partner, david black, to teach them to never give up. close confident, ben sherwood, to challenge them to always ask questions and then linda, who would be in charge of them all.
story about father hood and friendship. after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer, bruce feeler enlistsed a group of his closest friends to look out for his daughters in case he doesn t survive. deer friends, as you know, i have learned i have a seven-inch cancerous tumor. that afternoon, the girls had just turned three and came running to greet, laughing, giggling, falling to the ground. i crumbled. i kept imagining all the walks i might not take with them. the ballet recitals i might not see. they wondered who i was with a yearn for my voice. i believe eden and taibi will