Amazing Dad: Dave Wardle

Amazing Dad: Dave Wardle, who, along with his daughter, developed SofiaMaze, an online game that raises awareness of histiocytosis

Dave's Family: Kids: Sofia, forever 7, Quinn, 6

Dave Lives In: Aptos, California

Why Dave is Amazing: Even before his young daughter died from a rare cancer-like disease, Dave Wardle wanted to reach out to other families battling histiocytosis. The horrific condition attacks one or more important parts of the body, including the skin, bones, muscles, lungs, liver and spleen. Symptoms include severe rashes, bone lesions or lung problems. The disease impacts about one in 200,000 Americans, according to Dave's website, and about 15 percent of cases result in death.

Dave and Sofia, then 6, decided to create a fun, online game that would increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for research. The pair developed SofiaMaze, a free game that incorporates photos of Sofia, her favorite jokes and opportunities to find treasure.

"Sofia was real excited about the whole thing," he tells ParentDish. She helped choose pictures -- selecting the ones where her hair looked good -- and picked the colors and fonts for the logo.

Seven-year-old Sofia died before the game was finished. Dave, who works as an information technology consultant, has since completed it and the website has become a memorial to his brave and beautiful daughter.

"I like the idea that her friends can go into the website whenever they want," he says. "A lot of her friends have played the maze."

The site also has raised more than $13,000 for the Histiocytosis Association of America and Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services, an organization that helps families with kids fighting cancer.

"I think Sophia would love that," Dave says. His daughter didn't want other kids to go through the pain, sickness and constant treatments that she went through, he said.

Visitors to the site can read about Sofia, learn about histiocytosis and play the game, a maze that takes players on a trip from Sofia's house in Aptos, Calif., to Lucile Packard's Children Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.

"It introduces people who have never heard about histiocytosis to the disease," he says. "It raises a level of understanding."
Dave hopes to add "more fun things" to the site over the next year. He wants to update the maze and make it easier to play and add a video tribute to Sofia. The devoted dad would like to see the maze increase awareness of the disease among the medical community as well as the general population.

"One of the issues with getting treatment is that it's not that well understood by doctors," he says. "Kids are always misdiagnosed for quite a time. It doesn't get good funding for research. Thousands of kids are affected. It's just heartbreaking for the kids and families that have it."

Dave's Dad Chris Wardle Says: "I am both proud and humbled by the care and devotion with which Dave surrounded his lovely daughter Sofia. I think it is pretty amazing and wonderful that Dave wanted to use his creative talents to raise funds for the benefit of other sufferers."

Dave's Guilty Pleasure: Sitting down with a good book for two or three hours

Dave's Best Advice: "Don't watch so much TV. Go out and be creative."

Related: Amazing Dad: Jason Harper

Want to see who else made the list? Click here for the rest of AOL's 2010 Amazing Dads!