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I have been terribly negligent about posting here, and it hasn’t been for lack of material to write about. I have at least half a dozen topics I’ve been meaning to post about, some of which will probably evolve into an entire series of entries, if I ever get around to posting them. Some are reactions to the news and events. Others are related to things going on in my life and family. Still others reflect the evolutions I’ve been experiencing in my personal belief systems and my increasing levels of comfort with what I believe. I really need to recommit to writing about all of this, if only to record it for myself, so I can reflect on it in the future.
Where to start? I think I need to start with my brother. My last entry about my brother was posted back in November, right after my brother was discharged from the hospital after his near-death experience. At the time, we were hopeful that he would find a way to stop drinking, and that his health might improve somewhat as a result. Unfortunately, it does not appear that such a recovery is in the cards. My brother has been back in the hospital twice in the last month or so. When he was admitted the first time, his blood alcohol content was 0.4%, so that it is abundantly clear that he has been unable to stop drinking. My parents have found ample evidence that his drinking since November has been anything but light or moderate, and the impact of the continued drinking upon his health has been significant.
There have been significant periods during the latest rounds of hospitalization where it has seemed entirely likely that my brother was never going to recover sufficiently to be discharged. Surprisingly, his health has improved enough that he has been transferred to physical rehabilitation, but the list of damage he has done to his body is disturbingly long. He has almost no liver function left, and his kidneys and bone marrow are now showing signs of damage. His heart has become enlarged, and his skin is significantly jaundiced. It is unclear how much recovery is possible at this point, even if he were to never take another drink.
And that gets us to the biggest problem. While it seems clear to the rest of the family that he isn’t going to be able to stop drinking on his own, my brother is adamant in his refusal to even consider entering a residential substance abuse program. He is in total denial about the reasons for his recent hospitalizations, believing that they were the result of low blood sugar rather than alcohol. And there does not appear to be any way that we can have him enrolled in a substance abuse rehab program involuntarily (my parents did look into it, but it would require documentation of an underlying clinical depression that pre-dates his drinking, which we believe goes all the way back to college).
Given the current state of his health, he simply cannot survive long if he continues drinking, and I just don’t see any evidence to suggest that he is going to be able to stop. And even if he could somehow stop drinking, I’m seriously afraid that it is already too late. I don’t think it is very likely that my brother is going to live to see his 43rd birthday next October, and I’m quite certain that my parents are similarly preparing themselves (as best they can) for this unfortunate likelihood.
Where to start? I think I need to start with my brother. My last entry about my brother was posted back in November, right after my brother was discharged from the hospital after his near-death experience. At the time, we were hopeful that he would find a way to stop drinking, and that his health might improve somewhat as a result. Unfortunately, it does not appear that such a recovery is in the cards. My brother has been back in the hospital twice in the last month or so. When he was admitted the first time, his blood alcohol content was 0.4%, so that it is abundantly clear that he has been unable to stop drinking. My parents have found ample evidence that his drinking since November has been anything but light or moderate, and the impact of the continued drinking upon his health has been significant.
There have been significant periods during the latest rounds of hospitalization where it has seemed entirely likely that my brother was never going to recover sufficiently to be discharged. Surprisingly, his health has improved enough that he has been transferred to physical rehabilitation, but the list of damage he has done to his body is disturbingly long. He has almost no liver function left, and his kidneys and bone marrow are now showing signs of damage. His heart has become enlarged, and his skin is significantly jaundiced. It is unclear how much recovery is possible at this point, even if he were to never take another drink.
And that gets us to the biggest problem. While it seems clear to the rest of the family that he isn’t going to be able to stop drinking on his own, my brother is adamant in his refusal to even consider entering a residential substance abuse program. He is in total denial about the reasons for his recent hospitalizations, believing that they were the result of low blood sugar rather than alcohol. And there does not appear to be any way that we can have him enrolled in a substance abuse rehab program involuntarily (my parents did look into it, but it would require documentation of an underlying clinical depression that pre-dates his drinking, which we believe goes all the way back to college).
Given the current state of his health, he simply cannot survive long if he continues drinking, and I just don’t see any evidence to suggest that he is going to be able to stop. And even if he could somehow stop drinking, I’m seriously afraid that it is already too late. I don’t think it is very likely that my brother is going to live to see his 43rd birthday next October, and I’m quite certain that my parents are similarly preparing themselves (as best they can) for this unfortunate likelihood.
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