Alcoholism (long, a bit personal)
Posted: July 27 17, 7:04 am
Monday morning, someone from the insurance office in our building came in and asked if I heard about (client/friend). I hadn't. Well, he woke up vomiting blood a week ago. This was due to the blood vessels in his chest beginning to give out and he had internal bleeding. This condition is caused by alcoholism. He was in an induced coma for five days and during that time suffered from withdrawals. I went to visit him yesterday. His eyes lit up when he saw me, he remembered my name and how we knew each other, but from there went into complete rambling either things that were untrue or seemed just made up. I could tell he was still suffering, and to my best guess, it seemed that either he had lasting brain damage or more likely, the ammonia that the liver keeps out of your system was still affecting his brain.
How do I know these things? On a smaller scale, the same happened to me about four years ago. We were out of town, I woke up very early, went driving for a bit, went back to bed, and when I woke up I was a mess. A real mess. The wife called an ambulance and they took me to the ER. For one full day I don't remember, I was a completely different person. I was mean, violent, and the wife didn't recognize me. She had to leave the room crying, and she's the type that will hold hands with a dying family member until they pass. It was bad. Luckily I recovered, and haven't had a drink in five years as of August 1. Yay. I was very lucky. I never suffered any form of withdrawals, and have never been slightly tempted to have a drink. Thinking of what my wife would have to live through if I check out made me think about my own selfishness and how I needed to change. Anyway, I'm on a liver transplant list, but probably never will need one because I'm taking care of myself and am doing as well as possible for someone with my issues. I'm thankful for that. I attended the AA meetings but felt out of place because this stuff wasn't as hard for me as others. Why? No idea.
Back to my friend. I do not know if I write this if he will be with us tomorrow or not. I just don't. I'm very sad about this. As much as I think about how lucky I am and have been, not all have such luck.
I'm not writing this to say don't drink. Just don't be me. I could go without drinking, but if I had one, I had ten or more. I'm also not a soapboxer telling people not to drink. Drink, enjoy, have fun. For my five year anniversary I actually want a party with booze so that people can understand they can drink around me and I don't care. I haven't whooped this thing but I think I'm just a stubborn enough sob to not ever drink again.
Why I am writing this is that if you know someone that is showing signs of going to far with this stuff, talk to someone. Hopefully someone like me who can help. Or if you just need to talk about stuff, I'm available.
Thanks for the time, and if you do believe in God, please pray for my friend. If not, send good vibes. He needs everything he can get.
How do I know these things? On a smaller scale, the same happened to me about four years ago. We were out of town, I woke up very early, went driving for a bit, went back to bed, and when I woke up I was a mess. A real mess. The wife called an ambulance and they took me to the ER. For one full day I don't remember, I was a completely different person. I was mean, violent, and the wife didn't recognize me. She had to leave the room crying, and she's the type that will hold hands with a dying family member until they pass. It was bad. Luckily I recovered, and haven't had a drink in five years as of August 1. Yay. I was very lucky. I never suffered any form of withdrawals, and have never been slightly tempted to have a drink. Thinking of what my wife would have to live through if I check out made me think about my own selfishness and how I needed to change. Anyway, I'm on a liver transplant list, but probably never will need one because I'm taking care of myself and am doing as well as possible for someone with my issues. I'm thankful for that. I attended the AA meetings but felt out of place because this stuff wasn't as hard for me as others. Why? No idea.
Back to my friend. I do not know if I write this if he will be with us tomorrow or not. I just don't. I'm very sad about this. As much as I think about how lucky I am and have been, not all have such luck.
I'm not writing this to say don't drink. Just don't be me. I could go without drinking, but if I had one, I had ten or more. I'm also not a soapboxer telling people not to drink. Drink, enjoy, have fun. For my five year anniversary I actually want a party with booze so that people can understand they can drink around me and I don't care. I haven't whooped this thing but I think I'm just a stubborn enough sob to not ever drink again.
Why I am writing this is that if you know someone that is showing signs of going to far with this stuff, talk to someone. Hopefully someone like me who can help. Or if you just need to talk about stuff, I'm available.
Thanks for the time, and if you do believe in God, please pray for my friend. If not, send good vibes. He needs everything he can get.
