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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

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to feel ashamed and disgusted? Should I be showing compassion?(Long - sorry)

526 replies

BabylonPI · 13/09/2012 22:24

OK,

my DSis and I haven't seen eye to eye for quite some time - the last time I visited her house was in September 2009 when dd2 was a month old. Since then, I've given birth to DS1 - she didn't know I was pregnant with him as I asked people not to tell her. I didn't want her to know. The last time I had any contact with her was in August 2011 when she ruined my DD2s birthday party by starting a massive row with my inlaws Sad

DSis has 4 DCs, and I love them dearly. I have maintained contact with them even though I haven't had any contact with her.

At the beginning of the summer hols, DSis was admitted to hospital with some unknown illness. My parents begged me to make contact with her, and I did - for them, not for me or for her, but for my parents.

She was discharged from hospital (without a diagnosis) and we met for the first time in 12 months at my parents house. She met my DS for the first time and it was fine.

On Monday this week I took a trip up to her house as it was her DC3s birthday on Tuesday and I wanted to make sure the card and gift was on time. DSis was not expecting me and immediately upon entering her home I felt very uncomfortable - nothing I could put my finger on but very uncomfy.

Her DCs 3&4 told me upon my arrival that I shouldn't use the downstairs loo as mummy has been sick in there and it smells. DC4 also said that Daddy was still at work and he wasn't coming back.

Alarm bells started to ring, and I just felt that she wasn't herself. I thought she had been drinking, but talked myself out of that as I know how ill she has been. DCs asked if me and my DCs could stay for tea - DSis said we must and she would go and fetch takeaway. At this, I said we simply couldn't and had to get home.

I left after approx 45 mins.

On the way home, I called my parents and started off a whole chain of events which I'm devastated by.

I told parents that if I didn't know better I would say she was drunk - parents didn't believe me, so took a trip up to her house unannounced. The shit really hit the fan.
DSis denied drinking, but her whole attitude and demeanour gave her away. She attacked her DH, our parents and all in front of her 4 DCS who were screaming at their GPs to leave as they were making everything worse Sad

It gets worse.

On wednesday, I got a call from DM to say I needed to pick her up ASAP and get to DSis' house.

On arriving there, we find, DSis sat in a heap on the floor covered in her own vomit. The living room floor covered in vomit with the youngest DCs playing in it and the family dog eating it

She was so out of it - sat there in just a bra, completely oblivious to her surroundings. This was at 5pm.
She had collected her children from school in the car in this state (but dressed) just over an hour before. Eldest DC had called her Dad to say they desperately so needed help as mummy was so ill. Daddy called GP and so on and so forth....

Dsis is fighting drunk. DCs are witnessing everything (and it was obvious by their reactions that they've witnessed it before).

Because of her recent stay in hospital, her DH and my DM thought it best to take her back to hospital - she is denying all the time that she has had a drink.

At 10pm last night, she was still twice over the legal drink drive limit - she wasn't fit to be seen by the MH crisis scene until after 2am.

She was vile to the hospital staff, DH, DM - everyone really.

It then all came out. She has been drinking in secret for YEARS. She has conditioned her DCs to say NOTHING by thereatening them with Social Services and telling them they would be taken away.
She has had numerous bumps in her car, and has been breathalysed on one occassion that we are aware of (obviously clear on this occasion). Her DCs finally admitted that mummy often mounts the kerb when driving and they have been covering up for her.

She also has major issues with dependency on painkillers. Again, she has denied this vehemently.

She was sent home from hospital soon after 5am today. She has a crisis team in place who will visit her daily at home. She is on a detox as she is severely alcohol dependent.

She missed her DC4s first day at school and her DC1s first day at Secondary school due to her drinking.

When she arrived home, her first concern was that she didn't want to see her MIL, and after that I received a call to ask if I had seen her iPad as she couldn't remember what she had done with it.

I dropped EVRYTHING last night to go to her and her DCs, and her major concern is updating her facebook status :(

I am disgusted, angry and ashamed of her. Right now I don't want to know her. I am livid that she has risked her children's lives and the lives of others by driving drunk on a daily basis for god knows how long.

I will do anything to make sure the DCs are safe, but I'm not sure I can see her without without giving her a good hard slap Angry

Is this wrong? Should I be supporting her unconditionally?
AIBU for being this disgusted with her?
Where do I go from here?

She has some deep rooted issues which she had told everyone she was addressing and was getting counselling for - this was also a lie.

I'm gutted Sad

Sorry, I did say it was long.

OP posts:
BabylonPI · 20/09/2012 10:23

Thank you so much for the unwavering support you have all given me, it is so appreciated. Smile

I feel calmer and happier this morning, knowing that I am doing all that I can to support at the moment.

Dsis has this morning got all 4 DCs ready for school and has also cleaned up her own kitchen and got washing on etc, which to most of us is the norm, but hadn't been for her for quite sometime.

Small steps Smile

OP posts:
BabylonPI · 20/09/2012 10:26

Oh and also to say I have re-read this whole thread again this morning - what a difference a week makes Smile

OP posts:
Homebird8 · 20/09/2012 10:40

Small steps Smile

corblimeymadam · 20/09/2012 10:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheEnthusiasticTroll · 20/09/2012 18:16

sounds like positive steps babylon I am so glad for you that the commitment you have been showing is paying off.

keep strong belgianbun

corblimeymadam · 20/09/2012 19:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BabylonPI · 20/09/2012 20:18

belgianbun you have my every sympathy - you're right, it is hell.

Please feel free to hijack this thread for some support or a good old rant anytime you need to Wink

OP posts:
corblimeymadam · 20/09/2012 21:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Solo · 20/09/2012 22:47

Gosh bb you have brought tears to my eyes :(

BabylonPI · 21/09/2012 18:17

Well today DF has blown his stack with BIL Sad

It would appear that all these years Dsis has had 5, not 4 DCs to look after AngryAngry

The car, which Dsis usually uses is desperate for a service, tracking etc and it was booked for this morning.

BIL was supposed to take the car to a garage 5 mins drive away, but 5 mins before it was due to be there, he realised that as Dsis isn't driving, he would be stranded - a whole 10 - 15 mins walk from home Shock

So he phoned my mum to ask her what he should do??????

Oh ffs it's no surprise Dsis is an alcoholic if she has to look after him on that level too Hmm fucking cretin Angry

Well my DF lost it, told him to grow a pair, man up and find his fucking backbone!! And while he was at it, use his fucking legs to WALK home from the garage!!
The pillock said he couldn't walk as he didn't know the wayAngryAngryAngryAngryHmm

My DF put the phone down before he really let rip.

It is completely beyond me how a man of his intelligence, doing the job that he does, has so little common bloody sense AngryAngryAngry

I mean really???Angry

OP posts:
MrDobalina · 21/09/2012 18:37

I like the sound of your dad babylon Smile

what kind of person was your BiL, before you lost touch with your sister/ before the drinking?

He could be really fucking petrified/in a daze/ a bit dissociated...as a self-protection/ coping mechanism...a bit like PTSD...it is pretty traumatic and streeful living with an alcoholic

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociation_(psychology)

understanding why he is being like this (if he hasnt always being fucking useless) doesnt help the here and now though

sounds like they will need to be apart for them both to be able to recover though Sad

skyebluesapphire · 21/09/2012 19:45

Shock at BIL, sounds like my ex. Couldn't organise his way out of a paper bag

Jux · 21/09/2012 19:57

Oooooh, your dad's a good 'un! I did wonder how much your BIL had to do with your sister's state, particularly after your post on Tuesday, 21:53.

Do you think he's just a bit overwhelmed, or that he's got a bit of a rude awakening coming?

Homebird8 · 21/09/2012 21:12

Those poor DCs. They've had nobody to turn to have they? Their DM an increasingly poorly functioning alcoholic and their DF no help, and scared to death to tell anyone else. My heart goes out to them and to all those of you who are trying to lift their lives out of the confusion which is engrained and all around them.

Babylon, sending you and your DF, who are keeping your heads so well, the strength and clarity to help them.

QuintessentialShadows · 21/09/2012 23:00

Yay! to your father.

mathanxiety · 21/09/2012 23:08

The BIL is apparently perfectly capable and competent when it comes to work he considers a priority, and able to portray himself as a capable and functional individual to those who have kept him employed and perhaps even promoted him over the years, or he would be unemployed and not in some sort of senior position in his job.

He has clearly not prioritised his own children.

Thumbwitch · 21/09/2012 23:21

Good grief - he doesn't know the way?? What kind of almighty idiot is he? If he can get his car from home to the garage, then he can get back from garage to home again. If he needs the sat nav to do it, then (Unless he has an uber posh built in version) he can take it out of the car.

I don't buy that he's in shock and suffering - if he was, then he wouldn't be functioning at work either. It also suggests that he has chosen to ignore his wife's situation for many years rather than being ignorant of it, and has just put all his energies into his work rather than his family.

Good for your father but dear god those poor children. :(
Perhaps they do need removing to a safe home, if neither parent is capable of functioning as an independent adult.

Homebird8 · 21/09/2012 23:26

Exactly MathAnxiety. Well done to DF for telling BIL? My DH had to be shocked out of his 'work trench' as he called it but only when the fog had time to clear could he see where he'd been. I hope DF's words may have helped to do this for BIL and he can put his DCs first. I shudder to think what will happen otherwise...

TheOneAndOnlyMaryZed · 21/09/2012 23:33

Bloody hell Shock.

And I was feeling a bit sorry for him, because he was going to have to stand up and take over.

I'm beginning to think that this will end up with SS intervention and forcible removal of the children. I know dsis seems passively agreeable atm, but imo that usually signals "I'm waiting until they stop watching" rather than "I recognise I have a problem and I'm going to sort it".

ds tells me that three weeks is the limit. Addicts can last three weeks, then it all goes belly-up, so although it sounds hopeful at the moment, you can't really afford to relax yet.

Do remember to look after yourself. And make sure your parents do too. My friends parents nearly ended up very ill themselves after picking up the pieces.

BabylonPI · 21/09/2012 23:39

3 weeks is what I was thinking before a lapse Sad

OP posts:
MrDobalina · 21/09/2012 23:42

thumbwitch dissociative disorder could definitely account for BiL being able to function fine at work, but become 'useless' at home

I have myself felt symptoms of Depersonalisation Disorder and PTSD from being married to an alcoholic

BiL is going to find himself short of sympathy though because he has failed to keep his children safe

There seems to be little benefit to trying to keep the children in the home at this stage I think. IMO lift the children to safety until the adults and their relationship has imploded and stabilized, and then see what is left to go back to.....

RandomMess · 21/09/2012 23:44

Just Shock at your BIL

Glad life is feeling a bit better a week on, but it's going to be a long slow haul Sad

TheOneAndOnlyMaryZed · 21/09/2012 23:44

ds1 has a major addiction problem. Every time he gives up (cannabis in his case), he gets a week of feeling quite proud of himself (despite horrific withdrawal symptoms), a week of thinking "I've beaten it" and then slowly over the third week starts to think "what's the point, life is no different" and goes back on it.

I hope you get another crisis meeting next week. Do you have a plan in place for the next time she drinks?

Unfortunately if their dad is as useless as he sounds, simply removing her isn't the answer; you will probably have to take them. Can you manage them for a month or more while she goes as an inpatient, because that is probably the next step.

Obviously I hope she is clear of it, but the law of probabilities indicates otherwise Sad.

Thumbwitch · 21/09/2012 23:49

MrDobalina (as a completely trivial aside, I keep thinking of you as a man even though you're not) - yes, I don't know enough about it really. Just doesn't seem right that he could be so feckless over walking home from the garage - if it has been cooking the dinner or something completely home-based, I wouldn't have been so disbelieving, iyswim?

MrDobalina · 21/09/2012 23:55

AND thumbwitch he would have had to drive to the garage, so he does know the way!! Hmm

But that's what made me think there was more to it than, just being feckless...? who's to know Confused It would be nice to say, it doesn't matter, let him sort himself out, but unfortunately OP and parents are probably going to get involved in that sorry saga as well, because why he is a useless twat, is very relevant for 'what is best for the kids'...

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