Thank you. Yes, all the problems started after the accident, beginning with the pain meds (and the brain injury.) Problem is, the hospital that missed the broken back, never documented the brain injury either, since after about 2 weeks, he knew who he was again. But I saw it immediately. We were raised in a tiny house where we had to share a room growing up, and were pretty much best friends. I saw my friend change immediately. Just.... different. Like he was stuck as a pre-teen almost. This was before the pain med dependency. It was just strange.
Now, after all the years that have passed, he still is unknown to me most of the time. I hate the sex chatter that comes out of him, and the "party" mode voice he uses when he calls.... he treats me, and everyone around him, like we are still the ages we were when he was a teen. I am still the 16 yr. old partier, he is still asking about our parents getting back together (they were divorced in 1974 which is ironic, since for the first two weeks of his accident, that's the yr. he thought it was and said Carter was President when asked) and he just thinks I am that old person he used to hang with.
Alcoholism and drug addiction certainly run in my family. My father is a recovering alcoholic, fighting it for years. He had a heart attack when he was 45 from cocaine use. All of his brothers have addiction problems as well. The addiction I got is cigarettes which is killing me, albeit slower then something else I could have picked up I guess. Still not good of course. Of all things, my brother never picked that one up. I guess that is a positive. But I will say, after the dealings I have had with my brother and my father, I can truly say I HATE alcohol. I hate the smell that comes out of a person after drinking... I hate everything about it. Hate hate hate. Now, I have a teenage son, and I am hoping upon hope he stays dry... I don't know if I am telling him the right things or not, but hopefully I won't be having to go through this all over again. It hurts....a lot.