Reggie,
You are 100% correct IMHO. In the book "Dr Bob and the Good Oldtimers", which is the story of Dr Bob and covers early AA history in the Akron/Cleveland area, it was revealed that many of the early members did the steps in "days or weeks, not months or years". They did this after the typical 3 to 5 day detox - as soon as they were healthy enough to function.
Dr Bob himself performed 9th step amends (before the step was officially written) on the same day he had his last drink. If I faced this situation, I would buy this book for the old timer and give it to him, with the relevelant passages bookmarked. But that's me.