Hi Lc, thanks for your reply. I hadn't meant to pry, I was just interested because I'm trying to understand all the intricacies that addiction brings, not just to those who are addicted but to those around them. It's effects are far reaching.
We made sure that we didn't portray my stepdaughter's mother as 'bad'. Far from it in fact. My stepdaughter, when we spoke to her, said she was scared of telling the Social Worker the truth because her mum would go to prison. We assured her that her mum would not go to prison, and that she had an illness which she couldn't help, and told her her mum hadn't done anything wrong. The epilepsy is alcohol induced (diagnosed when my husband was with her), and the tablets she is taking don't mix with alcohol, hence the fits. My stepdaughter is 'trained' to deal with these fits, but she finds them frightening and isn't allowed to call an ambulance, although we told her back last year that really she should call an ambulance when mummy has a fit so that the hospital doctors can see why they're happening. The fits that required admission happened when my stepdaughter was with us, and the neighbour called the ambulance, hence the admission, if that makes sense.
We have always been very careful not to denigrate mum in any way, such is the fragility of the situation. However, now that she's 12 and aware of what's going on, we cannot brush things under the carpet to her anymore. We realise her accepting help is another hurdle, but we have to try don't we.
Thanks for your prayers, they are welcomed very much indeed.