My New Hero
Resident Curmudgeon
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Way down South in Indiana
Posts: 375
My New Hero
I've been sober 17 days and have drawn some inspiration from an unlikely source....my brother.
Paul has been an alcoholic, heavy drinker everyday all day, for about 40 years. Much of this time he was homeless or living in rooming houses. Much of the time he would avoid any contact with family and any friends except his fellow travelers for months or years. In the back of my mind I always expected the phone call, asking us to pick up the body.
On August 15th, we received a call that Paul was in a hospital 400 miles away and not expected to survive the night. Seems he had not been seen for a few days and the police /EMS had to bust down the door to a small room he had rented. He was unconscious (we don't know how long), his kidneys were in failure, he was in a diabetic coma and an infection in his foot had spread almost up to his knee.
Well, he did survive the night, daily dialysis, and 2 weeks in ICU and another 10 days in a regular hospital room before being transferred to a VA facility. Unfortunately, his left leg need to be amputated to save his life.
He is now in a halfway rehab VA facility, learning to walk with his prosthesis and getting some job training, and can come and go as his wishes. The best part is he has a great attitude, is upbeat all the time and is finally taking care of himself. Even better, he has been sober for over 100 days.
It is partly his example plus my own motivation that led me to quit the booze 17 days ago.
It is good to have my brother "back".
Thanks for listening.
Paul has been an alcoholic, heavy drinker everyday all day, for about 40 years. Much of this time he was homeless or living in rooming houses. Much of the time he would avoid any contact with family and any friends except his fellow travelers for months or years. In the back of my mind I always expected the phone call, asking us to pick up the body.
On August 15th, we received a call that Paul was in a hospital 400 miles away and not expected to survive the night. Seems he had not been seen for a few days and the police /EMS had to bust down the door to a small room he had rented. He was unconscious (we don't know how long), his kidneys were in failure, he was in a diabetic coma and an infection in his foot had spread almost up to his knee.
Well, he did survive the night, daily dialysis, and 2 weeks in ICU and another 10 days in a regular hospital room before being transferred to a VA facility. Unfortunately, his left leg need to be amputated to save his life.
He is now in a halfway rehab VA facility, learning to walk with his prosthesis and getting some job training, and can come and go as his wishes. The best part is he has a great attitude, is upbeat all the time and is finally taking care of himself. Even better, he has been sober for over 100 days.
It is partly his example plus my own motivation that led me to quit the booze 17 days ago.
It is good to have my brother "back".
Thanks for listening.
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Where the sun is always shining
Posts: 425
Originally Posted by Bimm 
I've been sober 17 days and have drawn some inspiration from an unlikely source....my brother.
Paul has been an alcoholic, heavy drinker everyday all day, for about 40 years. Much of this time he was homeless or living in rooming houses. Much of the time he would avoid any contact with family and any friends except his fellow travelers for months or years. In the back of my mind I always expected the phone call, asking us to pick up the body.
On August 15th, we received a call that Paul was in a hospital 400 miles away and not expected to survive the night. Seems he had not been seen for a few days and the police /EMS had to bust down the door to a small room he had rented. He was unconscious (we don't know how long), his kidneys were in failure, he was in a diabetic coma and an infection in his foot had spread almost up to his knee.
Well, he did survive the night, daily dialysis, and 2 weeks in ICU and another 10 days in a regular hospital room before being transferred to a VA facility. Unfortunately, his left leg need to be amputated to save his life.
He is now in a halfway rehab VA facility, learning to walk with his prosthesis and getting some job training, and can come and go as his wishes. The best part is he has a great attitude, is upbeat all the time and is finally taking care of himself. Even better, he has been sober for over 100 days.
It is partly his example plus my own motivation that led me to quit the booze 17 days ago.
It is good to have my brother "back".
Thanks for listening.
Paul has been an alcoholic, heavy drinker everyday all day, for about 40 years. Much of this time he was homeless or living in rooming houses. Much of the time he would avoid any contact with family and any friends except his fellow travelers for months or years. In the back of my mind I always expected the phone call, asking us to pick up the body.
On August 15th, we received a call that Paul was in a hospital 400 miles away and not expected to survive the night. Seems he had not been seen for a few days and the police /EMS had to bust down the door to a small room he had rented. He was unconscious (we don't know how long), his kidneys were in failure, he was in a diabetic coma and an infection in his foot had spread almost up to his knee.
Well, he did survive the night, daily dialysis, and 2 weeks in ICU and another 10 days in a regular hospital room before being transferred to a VA facility. Unfortunately, his left leg need to be amputated to save his life.
He is now in a halfway rehab VA facility, learning to walk with his prosthesis and getting some job training, and can come and go as his wishes. The best part is he has a great attitude, is upbeat all the time and is finally taking care of himself. Even better, he has been sober for over 100 days.
It is partly his example plus my own motivation that led me to quit the booze 17 days ago.
It is good to have my brother "back".
Thanks for listening.
Awesome, inspiring story. Goes to show that anyone can change. You and brother can be a great source of strength for each other. Thank you for posting.
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