He felt that his father would either become ill or meet with an accident. James suggested that John go to Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. John's reaction was violent. For the first time in his life, John struck James. He yelled, "I am not an alcoholic." John felt that his drinking was under control; he could stop any time; and he could never be classified as an alcoholic.
John never remembered hitting James, even spanking him. John belonged to the school that never subscribed to the adage: "Spare the rod, spoil the brat." James received this stoically. Though he spent the night weeping, he realized that his father did not strike him, it was the alcohol. James did miss his mother, very much. The next day, after John had sobered, but still needed that "pick me up," he felt remorse and tearfully apologized to his son. When he drank, he never knew what he was doing, John said.
The counselor at AA encouraged James to join Alateen. In addition to counseling, James also liked the support-group setting at Alateen meetings. He finally felt that he was not suffering through his father's drinking alone. John's drinking hung like a constant cloud over James' head. He felt as if he never had one moment in his life of happiness.
Then one day John could not wake up in the morning. The doctor was called in and told James that his father had advanced cirrhosis of the liver. Even another drop of alcohol would kill him. The liver filters out 95% of the alcohol in the blood. But chronic drinking had rendered John's liver non-functional, the doctor...
It was like a miracle. John stopped drinking, cold turkey. This, along with the medication, helped John to heal. The process of recovery was as smooth as possible, even though the hallucinations of "bugs crawling up my arm" lasted a few days.
James had never experienced such happiness in his life. John remained been a teetotaler for more than fifteen years. Interestingly enough, John sought to forget the drinking part of his life and had no recollection that he ever drank.
Then one day, James was informed that John was in the hospital, seriously ill with internal bleeding. The bleeding could not be stopped, and within twenty-four hours, John was dead. James was able to get to John's bed side before he passed away. John had lapsed into coma because of the lack of oxygen to the brain because of low blood pressure from the bleeding. He was placed on a ventilator so that John could see him alive and whisper into his ears, "Dad, I love you."
This essay shows that while social drinking is acceptable, there are certain inherent risks to even starting. John's father died of chronic alcoholism. There was a probable sign that he had a genetic predisposition to an addictive personality. It was perhaps best not to start drinking. This essay clearly demonstrates that the ill effects of drinking are not just felt by the person drinking. The fall out is severe on near and dear ones. With drinking comes apathy, where the person drinking does not consider the effect of those around him. James was left to bear this burden.
