Way too young to die
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Western PA
Posts: 416
Way too young to die
Hey everyone, just wanted to share a tragic story of just how sad our disease actually is.
A childhood friend of mine died yesterday at the age of 36 because he could not put down the bottle. About a year ago he started to have health problems and his doctor told him if he didn't quit he would surely die from drinking. He went about three months clean and picked up the bottle again and drank himself to death. He just would not quit, thought he was above it.
He leaves behind a wife, a 10 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. His son wants to read a letter he wrote to his dad at the funeral. It is going to be brutal.
Just another tragic tale to reinforce we are in the right place trying to do the right thing.
Coop
A childhood friend of mine died yesterday at the age of 36 because he could not put down the bottle. About a year ago he started to have health problems and his doctor told him if he didn't quit he would surely die from drinking. He went about three months clean and picked up the bottle again and drank himself to death. He just would not quit, thought he was above it.
He leaves behind a wife, a 10 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. His son wants to read a letter he wrote to his dad at the funeral. It is going to be brutal.
Just another tragic tale to reinforce we are in the right place trying to do the right thing.
Coop
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Central Scotland
Posts: 174
Where I live, I see it all the time. Poverty has a lot to do with it. Three guys who I knew fairly well all passed away last year through alcoholism. They were aged 43, 33 and 28.
The oldest guy was fantastic company. An intelligent guy with a real cutting sense of humour but with a cheeky demeanour that meant people wouldn't get mad at him, a font of useless trivia and a big fan of punk music; he ended up a recluse, venturing only the fifty yards from his house to the store to stock up on cheap cider every day. A real waste.
The oldest guy was fantastic company. An intelligent guy with a real cutting sense of humour but with a cheeky demeanour that meant people wouldn't get mad at him, a font of useless trivia and a big fan of punk music; he ended up a recluse, venturing only the fifty yards from his house to the store to stock up on cheap cider every day. A real waste.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,755
At the end of my short but stellar drinking career I wasn't close to dying from it, but knew that if I continued something horrible would happen to me or someone else as a result of my drinking.
I am so sorry for the tragic and too-early death of your friend, but your message has only reinforced my will to stay sober so that I don't come to a horrible end like your friend did.
I am so sorry for the tragic and too-early death of your friend, but your message has only reinforced my will to stay sober so that I don't come to a horrible end like your friend did. September 28th 2010...
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Posts: 47
I am 37 - I quit when I was 36. Just the thought that I might have been too late, like your friend, really drives home the simple truth that you never know if you'll ever get another chance to get sober and stay there. It's too bad your friend ran out of time.
I personally will never take this lightly. 'Slip' is not a part of my vocabulary, because to me slip = relapse, and not everybody can pick themselves up and try again.
My condolences.
I personally will never take this lightly. 'Slip' is not a part of my vocabulary, because to me slip = relapse, and not everybody can pick themselves up and try again.
My condolences.
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,519
Thank you for the reminder Coop. I need one every once in awhile, because sometimes I too think I might be "above it". I am sorry for the tragic, needless loss of your friend and the children's father. As you said, the funeral will be brutal. I hope someone will learn from this so his leaving will not be a total loss.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Present
Posts: 425
Sorry about your loss Coop... it raises memories of dear friends who took the wrong turn in life and were run over by alcohol. Anthony, just 34, died in the surf a few years ago of pancreatitis after a bender on Christmas eve; Simon, 55, died last year alone in his apartment of liver failure, leaving his wife and kids fatherless; Chris suffocated in his bed at the age of 23 after drinking a bottle of vodka. The reality has dawned... alcohol is poison and it wreaks havoc on people's lives.
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
So sorry to hear about your friend, coop. It's so difficult to imagine losing someone at that age, but speaks to the fact that one doesn't have to drink for decades to be struck down by this disease. My prayers are with you and his family.
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