By Debbie Emery - Breaking Celebrity News Reporter

Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas has won the hearts of America -  along with two Olympic gold medals - during the past week in London, but noticeably absent cheering her on in the crowd was her father.

The 16-year-old nicknamed the "Flying Squirrel" was separated from her dad for a large part of her childhood while the Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy Douglas served multiple deployments abroad, leaving mom Natalie Hawkins to raise her four children alone. "I just had to pray to God just to keep him safe and tell the angels to keep my dad safe and come home," she told NBC.

Gabby was  just nine when her dad was called up to serve in Iraq, and two years later she was forced to leave her family in Virginia Beach to live with a sponsor family in DeMoines, Iowa to train.

“It was hard for us growing up – my dad had left us, so he wasn’t really in the picture anymore. So, my mom had to front all these bills. My dad didn't really pay the child support. He was short (on money)," Gabby said candidly this week, according to the New York Post. "It was definitely hard on my mom, taking care of me and my siblings."

The 4'11" phenomen