How My Dad Changed My Life in 4 Hours (Every Parent Needs to Read This)

As I write this post, my dad is laying down next to me in a hospital bed. After indulging in some fish and chips last night, he woke up this morning feeling like crap. Not just feeling like crap, but vomiting profusely, like his body was trying to reject a toxin.

Fast forward a few hours later, he can barely get out of bed. After finding his way downstairs, the pain really started to kick in. No energy, not even enough to lift a spoon. Think about that for a second.

After drinking only 2 cups of water throughout the day, he wanted to rest his eyes for a while. Once he woke up, to his surprise, he felt much worse. Have you ever had so many aches in your body that you didn’t know what was going on? Yeah — that’s how he felt.

In typical dad fashion, he said he was “fine”.

I argued with him that he should consider going to the hospital. I explained to him that the fact he is has type 2 diabetes also puts him at higher risk for many other health implications. Once I persuaded him to eat some food (to give him some energy), we were on our way to the hospital.

Being admitted within minutes of arriving, the standard protocol was in full affect. They checked his blood pressure, performed an EKG (a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart.), sampled blood work and took a chest x-ray.

Why am I writing this as my dad is lying next to me?

You have no idea what thoughts are going through my head. Is he going to be fine? I mean, he’s my dad…my only one. What if something happens? I don’t even want to think about that.

If you have parents, or if you are a parent that has been neglecting your health, nothing else will scream “wake up” like being in a hospital. Far too often, we put our health on pause and let other priorities rule our lives. To be quite honest, without your health, none of the other priorities matter. If you are expecting to take care of your family or loved ones, you need to start by taking care of yourself first.

The last I checked, you have one life to live. Too many people are living their life like they get to come back and do it all over again. You have often heard the phrase that “time is the most precious commodity, and it’s the one thing you can never get back”.

Use this story as the wake up call you’ve been looking for.

As I look at my dad lying on the bed, waiting for his test results, all I can do is pray for the best. The feeling in my stomach right now is something that I never want any son or daughter to experience in their lifetime.

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Update: From start to finish, dad’s hospital journey took 4 hours. Test results all came back positive, dad is good to go! These were the longest 4 hours of my life. In 4 hours, I truly realized why your health is your number one asset.

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