Time to talk about my brother. He would only ask for help when he felt for sure he was dying, his legs couldn't hold him up, laboured breathing, confusion. It was another several day drinking binge. He started drinking at the young age of 16 when our Father died. But his drinking was on weekends, he quit school and got a job and pretty much worked on a regular schedule. Remained living with our Mother, she became sick and he was her main caregiver until her death. I am not sure how he did it because the drinking got pretty heavy over the years, yet he still went to work. He stayed friends with all the neighborhood boys that he grew up with and for some ungodly reason, most of those boys were drug or alcohol dependant.
It got to the point that after my Mothers death, I couldn't go to the house because it was filled with drunken/ druggies.
He has a 16 year old son who has never had a normal family life.
What with the times as they are, He was laid off and collected unemployment, because of his addiction and not being able to go a day with out drinking, a new job was impossible.
He is 50 years old now, the house is in foreclosure, unemployment ran out, no health insurance.
Several times over the past two years I have had to bring him to the ER. They would just keep him until he sobered up, give him IV'S of B vit. then send him home, and tell him to go to rehab. I couldn't force him to do what he didn't want to do, it's his decision.
He took the offer back in Aug 2011, 28 days or so he stayed there sober, the day he got out he started drinking. Back to ER several times with the same results, Vit B IV'S, sober up and send him on his way.
Until this last bout, they saw he was at his end and transferred him downtown. Downtown Hospital wanted nothing to do with him but they did hook him up with yet another Rehab.
He spent only 2 days there when they called us and said he is too sick to remain here, he needed a hospital.
They hooked us up with the right place at last" Detroit Receiving Hospital", the one place that will take care of the homeless, the uninsured.
His liver is gone, his lungs fill with fluid because of a past injury, They drained 11 liters of fluid from his stomach, and 7 liters from his lungs.
They have offered Palliative care NOT Hospice, as a matter of fact, we must NEVER even say that word. Gene is full of positive hope and does not want OR need to hear the word.
PALLIATIVE Care is the word, it sends hope, so please friends if you remember nothing please remember this.
He will have a simple surgery to put a drain in so he can drain his own stomach as it fills, his stomach blows up like a balloon for now about every 7 days.
Gene is in no pain and says he feels great and will go live with our Brother Glenn as soon as the surgery gets done, the Drs aren't in a hurry to do this but when there is space and time for the procedure then he will go home the same day. Maybe tomorrow.
He is not a candidate for a liver transplant, you need to be sober for two years, so he would not be put on the list.
If there is a God and he decides to forgive my baby brother and lets him live for two more years, then maybe perhaps there is hope.
