Sark, I had my younger brother drop dead suddenly for no apparent reason. He was healthy and did not drink or smoke and had not done either to excess before. That was three weeks into my sobriety in 2010. Then my first cousin my age did the same a couple of weeks later from a massive heart attack. When my brother died I tried to fly to N. New York for the funeral but the one flight there could not be reached when my connecting flight to it broke down stranding me in Dallas. In an airport. I remember thinking that I would have spent the whole day in the airport bars before I quit drinking.
I also said to myself that my being sober would not magically suspend reality and no one would die, all wars end, and politicians would become honest and acceptable in the homes of decent people.
It took several months for me to deal with the grief, and still today more than 18 months later, the memory is tough. I didn't post about it here for several weeks as grief for me is very private.
I flew back home and called my SIL to let them know I would be absent.
That wasn't tough to deal with sober. That was tough to deal with period. Had I still been drinking and made it to the funeral . . . lots of not so nice things could have happened.
Keep your Doc in the loop regardless. It is depressing to stop using a depressant. Weird that.
My wife, kids and friends were all in the loop before I went in to detox. The one thing I let them know was that my drinking was my business just as my sobriety was. I never had legal issues or acted out when drinking. I would not hold them accountable for my sobriety or my drinking, my sobriety is a no-fault sobriety.
Hang in there. And remember that you will get better at getting better! We all do.