Well we have slightly more information now. SD also spoke to her mum today, and she told her she'd been to see a Nurse to ask for tablets to stop her from shaking all the time, but the Nurse told her no, and that she needs professional help. She didn't actually say to SD 'I'm an alcoholic', but said she was attending a Meeting on Friday and would go from there. We've told SD that this is great, because admitting she has a problem is the very first step. But, we told her it's a very long road, and all won't be solved in one single meeting on Friday. We told her that her mum has to do this for herself, and want to do it for herself, not because she's basically lost her daughter and also her son. We also told her that many alcoholics will abstain for a couple of days, tell everyone they're sober, and then drink again within a short period of time, and that relapsing is common. She said 'so if mum phones me on Saturday and says she is no longer an alcoholic, I just take that with a pinch of salt?'. The answer was a resounding 'yes, a very big pinch of salt'.
We shall see.