Looking Back at a post on Dec 11, 2007....an Alcoholic Friend....

Looking back to a post I did back in December of 2007 I see that I mentioned then how I hoped that my friend had hit bottom with her drinking. Who knew that breaking her neck was just the beginning.

Last night we went over to her house to check on her and her dog. ( We have been taking care of her dog off and on for the last year and a half as her drinking got worse and worse) She was again in a drunken stupor sitting at the kitchen table. We again dumped the vodka she was drinking, and seached for the rest of the bottle. We found another empty 1.75 ltr bottle in a kitchen cabinet.

I asked her if she liked doing this to herself, she slurred... nooo..... Then I asked who was supplying her with the vodka? She eventually managed to say a name, Pete, from the local bar. ( Or at least that is what it sounded like) .

I had been told by her counselor that being blunt with her was good maybe it would shake her up enough to realize that she needed to stop, get help. I told her that she was an end stag alcoholic. What that meant , and that if she didn't stop drinking and get help she would die. Her response was that she would rather continue drinking and die.

So there you have it, if she doesn't want to change her life around , that is what will happen. I'm just disappointed again at her, but it is her choice. Looks like we will have a new dog permanently in a short time.

End-stage alcoholism is a horrible way to die. Alcohol is a cumulative poison that damages the skin, brain, liver, heart, and other parts of the body. As the damage to these organs progresses with continued use, the body systems needed for life begin to fail.

The heart weakens and becomes enlarged.

The liver becomes scarred, shrunken, and hardened (cirrhosis). It stops functioning, causing blood dysfunctions and esophageal varices, and hemorrhoids that can rupture suddenly, causing the person to bleed to death.

The brain's internal spaces are enlarged, and the fissures in the cortex are widened. This general loss of brain tissue is associated with alcoholic dementia (wet brain), a decline in the capacity for thinking or learning. Other symptoms of organic brain disorders are mental confusion, impaired coordination while walking, impaired vision, and memory loss.

The skin's vascular systems are damaged. The skin's ability to retain heat is compromised. Abnormally enlarged capillary groups, with blue and red spider-like capillaries, appear primarily on the upper body. Unexplained bruising, redness of the skin especially on the face, fluid retention under the eyes, and a "whiskey nose" can develop.

Direct tissue irritation and/or induction of enzymes that activate other carcinogens can cause cancers of the mouth, tongue, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, lung, pancreas, colon and rectum.

In the advanced stage, damage to the liver, heart, brain and other body tissues may be irreversible. Severe physical damage often leads to life-threatening illnesses that result in premature death. Brain damage from years of excessive drinking or drug use may be permanent. As brain cells die from chronic alcohol intake, they are generally not regenerated, and the tissue of the brain itself begins to deteriorate.

Even if sobriety is achieved in this advanced state of alcoholism, the quality of life may be significantly impacted and the physical damage may be so great that it becomes difficult to treat. It is however, never too late to start recovery from alcohol addiction. Persons suffering from irreversible damage caused by chronic drinking can still begin and successfully continue recovery. Obviously, the earlier, the better.

Shes already showing allot of the signs.... I do not believe that she will be around much longer, either her heart and liver will give out shortly due to the drinking, or she will pass out and drown in her own vomit or die from passing out and hitting her head again on the toilet/sink/tub... etc.... Any way you look at it , it is a horrible way to go.