Day 10

I didn’t make a meeting but did speak to my sponsor for a short while. I traveled out of state today to my father’s home to visit him in a physical rehab center. Among the multiple stressors in my life, my father was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his colon a few months ago. This was hard enough news on its own, but he quickly made it worse by falling and breaking his hip.
At 77 years of age, he’s not in the best of health. My father is also an alcoholic in complete denial. He hides bottles of wine everywhere in the house and states it’s never too early for a beer. Trying to get over my addiction with another alcoholic in a house full of liquor doesn’t work. I learned the hard way. I was twenty-three days sober before my last visit.
He has had a few hospital trips where alcohol played a factor in his condition, and I think the fall that caused his hip fracture was no different. He lay on the hallway floor from 8 pm, with his phone in hand, till 6 am when he finally called my aunt. The family and I think he either passed out or didn’t want anyone to know how much he had that night. Was it truly less painful to stay on the floor than let us know he was drunk?
They were able to place a rod in his hip rather than do a full replacement. This caused him a week in the hospital and the full month in rehab leading up to his cancer surgery. The tumor was removed along with two feet of bowel. At least there is no need for chemotherapy. He went back to rehab, and here I am again for another weekend visit. No alcohol in the house this time.
I admitted to my family my problem and I was surprised at how understanding they were. My aunt came and emptied all the containers in the home. She wildly wielded a knife from the kitchen draw and stabbed a box of wine till it bled empty into the kitchen sink. I think she released a lot of frustration that day.
It wasn’t the easiest thing to admit my addiction to my family, yet it had to be done. I can’t do this on my own.