My father was confined in a hospital in our town last night when his blood pressure rose high again which caused him to lose sensations in his limbs and feel dizzy. My Tatay was not able to walk and so my cousin had to carry him out of the house and into the van to take him into the nearest hospital.

I hope this is not a case of another stroke as five years ago he had one making his left side of the body weak. I hope he will get well soon and be able to walk and feel healthy again.

I am just feeling a little annoyed from the fact that my father would not quit smoking even after a stroke which almost made him bedridden. He suffered that first stroke early in the morning after a night of incessant alcohol drinking. After being confined in the hospital for a bout a week he was able to walk and was determined to get his strength back. He stopped his addiction to alcohol! Sadly, cigarette smoking seemed too difficult for him to quit. We’d always go into arguments about the effects of nicotine especially in a fragile state of his aging body. Of course, what ever I said then was not enough to persuade him to stop smoking.

I hope that when he goes out of the hospital he’ll realize that he needs to stay away not only from alcohol and salty and fatty foods but also from cigarettes. Just have to pray for now.

Get well soon Pop!