Hi sympathy-gone-My AH of 23 years has been drinking most of our married life. In fact, probably about 20 years ago, he to was drinking a fifth of vodka a day. He was/is in outside sales-how scarey to think he drove-It eventually put him in the hospital but he still did not stop. Having said that, long story short, he continued to drink because he could not function without-then he went into rehab. Back then I believed he would come out "cured", little did I know this is a life long journey. Sure, he stopped for awhile but eventually went back-little by little-(started with the "non-alcoholic beer" )He decided to switch to "beer/wine" instead of the hard stuff- (so what!! HA HA) and to this day is back to drinking functionally- in the closet-he tries to hide it but of course it is obvious when he does. He is now 48, looks terrible but is still ticking! I wait for the body to give out, just when that will be, one does not know. However, I have seen his decline (mentally, and especially physically). I try to continue life as "normal" with my kids. Other than this flaw, he is a great father/husband. I know this disease affects everyone differently and that makes it so hard on the rest of us that love them. Peace to you.