A Daughter's Struggle

My father has false beliefs about health practices which I cannot correct. As a student nurse I feel the responsibility to influence my father so he will know the do’s and dont’s in his everyday life. Unfortunately, I fail to fulfill my responsibility because he resist changes and he doesn’t listen to my health teachings for he thinks I’m just his daughter and he still knows best as my parent. Every inch of me struggles each time I see my father eat excessive fatty foods when he already knows he has high triglycerides and he has recurring chest pains. In my mind, I dare to tell him that he should stop smoking and drinking but I can’t approach him and tell him that. I rehearse the things I will tell him but always get dismissed when I start my sentences. He reasons out with me each time I confront him. His ideas are fixed and he gives me an impression that I will never amount to anything when I talk to him. I just keep quiet and avoid going near him because we’ll just fight if I try to talk to him about his health problems. I feel ineffective as a health promoter. He doesn’t bear in mind that I’ll be in the medical field next year. I care for him so much although we already have a communication gap. I’ve already told myself that this is something that’s out of my control yet I feel like I can still do the right thing if I just have enough willpower to break into my father’s barrier and if my father sees me in a positive light. It’s a helpless struggle. It’s not me who’ll lose but it’s my father who will. He’ll lose his life if I do not do something. Although sometimes I feel like he’s liking what he’s doing to himself and it’s his own making if he gets a serious illness, a constant tug at my heart still urges me to do something for my father. I keep struggling because my heart won’t let me ignore everything. If he will just give me a chance to talk to him then maybe he’ll realize what he’s been doing to himself. If he will just accept me as a caring daughter who only wants what’s good for him, maybe he’ll stop smoking and drinking. If I am just another person whom he respects as a nursing student, maybe he’ll listen and actually do something about his health. I do not want to wait for him to suffer from a serious disease because of his unhealthy lifestyle before he realizes the importance and the truth of what I’ve been pointing out to him. I hope it will not be too late for my father to change. I hope he will see past his nose before it’s too late for him. I’ll never stop praying for my father’s health. One day, God will open his eyes and he’ll see that I’ve always been there for him.