Could really do with a bit of online support thanks to covid.
Brother is an alcholic. Serious alcholic I had a phone call this week to let me know he was found collapsed and in an unresponsive state on Tuesday. His partner initially thought he was dead but called an ambulence. He has been admitted to hospital with what sounds like end stage alcholism. Cognitive impairements, incoherant speech, skin and eyes dark yellow, serious fluid retention in abdomen, lied to the A&E drs about his health history and is now not responding to anyone by phone because his partner DARED call an ambulence. Hospital is in lockdown and frankly he is too ill to manage to crawl out of the ward to find alcohol. None of his bottle 'friends' can visit as the hospital is still closed to visitors so I know this time he will not have any access to alchohol. I feel so sorry for the doctors and nurses who are trying to look after him as he can be so nasty when he cannot get hold of alchohol.
Struggling with that horrible mix of knowing this day would come and wishing his lifestyle choices had been better. Thanks to covid the gardens and all I would have vistied to give myself a restful thinking space are still closed.
I have missed and I still miss the funny, bright and caring brother I grew up with. He has not been there for too many years. IF he limps through this the level of damage he has doen to himself is not something he will come back from - ever. His poor partner, a deeply caring none drinker that my brother appears to have latched onto, does not realise just how deep and dark the whole 'drink' thing goes. He is still talking about when the hospital makes him better. Then he talks about how my brother has refussed to wash for over six months, refussed to change clothes, refussed to attend any of the support put in place by his GP and NOT attended hospital appointments for liver failure. It is not going to end well.
From some of the other symptoms his partner has now opened up and told me about he either has significant dementia or 'wet brain'. I have told his partner under no circumstances to allow the hospital to send my brother home without a full care package being in place. His partner has been working all hours to cover the bills as he was not aware brother has been recieving monthly money from an early medical pension from his old job or that he had found a way to empty out his trust fund - you can guess where all that money has gone.
I choose to go minimal contact as I decided enough was enough and my kids deserved better than having to deal with a nasty drunk uncle. I have said I would be happy to talk with any social worker or similar about his past drunken behaviours and the effects it has had. I am aware that this time it may require him to be placed into some kind of residential setting. As far as I am concerned his partner will be allowed to stay in the house for as long as he wants. IMHO he is a saint for putting up with and caring for my very ungrateful brother - its in a seperate property trust to protect it and its the only thing my brother has failed to find a way to cash in to buy booze.
It all darn well sucks as he is my last living relative. Once he dies I will be the only one left from my family. That is making me feel very, very sad. I wish I could talk to my parents about all this but they died within hours of each other over a couple of years ago.