Merry Christmas, Constant Reader (I am a King fan).
In my job I speak with insurance agents and their staff support all day long. I spoke with a woman today named Cathy from Ohio who can use all of our prayers today. Her son Aaron is 33 and currently in ICU with liver failure and cirrhosis. He’s been a life-long alcoholic who has been working on cutting back; he even had switched a few years back from hard liquor to beer. He was aware of his disease and tried and tried again to get sober and swore to his mom that he didn’t want to live like this anymore. When he would visit the doctor he always asked them to check his liver numbers and they were always good. Out of the blue, two weeks ago he turned yellow and was told he has days to live.
Her story was hitting so close to home. My heart ached for her and I told her she could not have been put in contact with anyone that understood her situation more than myself. I am still losing sleep over my ex; worried that he is going to die in his sleep or something of the sort. I try not to but I cannot help it and some days are far worse than others. This young man Aaron is recently engaged and has hours to live. All for the disease of alcoholism. His mom was going to be contacting hospice so he could spend his last few hours of life at home.
I was crying on the phone with her. I managed to keep myself composed, but my voice cracked more than a few times speaking with her. Maybe I will never understand the allure of alcohol even though I lived and witnessed it for about half of my life. These people who are so loved by their families and friends choose bottles over life. No amount of wishful thinking will help them once they get to this point; sadly for Aaron it is a matter of time.
My ex had been doing well the last month or so. Was recognized at his job for excellent quality and told me he was starting to be able to think clearly again. I think he’s drinking now though. My hopes for him will likely never come true. And naturally I feel like my talk with Cathy today was an omen for his near future. It’s so sad; it’s so heartbreaking but I am thankful I do not witness it on a daily basis.
My hopes for you all are that you have a Merry Christmas. Hopefully some of the pain of your alcoholic subsides by being able to share the holiday with loved ones. Sadly for some of you the holidays make it worse. Just please say a prayer for Aaron and his mother Cathy…Aaron will hopefully be at peace soon from this horrible, debilitating disease.
The Alcoholic Marriage 