I AM A DRUNK!!! But by the grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, this month I celebrate 28 years of sobriety. Being sober does not cure me. Being sober does not make me any less the drunk. Being sober does give me back my life. Being sober does give me back my health. Being sober makes me realize that I am a drunk. In this regard, anonymity is generally the rule but after 28 years I feel it is very important to share my story with others in order to help. I was a big, strong man and athletically fit in every way. I worked very hard at multiple jobs at a time to raise our family. I went to church every Sunday, prayed the Rosary every day and I loved my bride beyond the measure of words. None of that stopped me, however, from being a drunk. It is a disease which, regardless of your preventative measures, catches up with you and will destroy everything you hold most dear, including your physical life. You may try to suppress symptoms of this disease by abstinence but I assure you it will manifest itself in other areas of your life. It is a disease of addiction. I was not panhandling in the streets, living in shelters or sleeping on subway station floors. I wasnt digging through trash bins looking for something to eat or cans and bottles to redeem. At least not yet! My disease was and is no different than those who do what I just mentioned. We are the same, just different circumstances. The disease of addiction is no respecter of person or status, no respecter of race, gender, creed, national origin, orientation, socio-economic status or family position. The disease of addition is NOT something to be ashamed of or embarrassed by. If you are married or otherwise with a significant other, you must know that you have already spread the disease to them. They too, if they love and care about you, suffer from the same disease just in a different way. It is like a computer virus that infects files and programs and passed along in unsuspecting messages and programs only to wreak havoc at the most inopportune times. The good news, for me, is the GOOD NEWS. The saving grace of God gave me a second chance. God put people in my life to save my life. My bride, my Mother, my siblings and most of all, my Da! I really dont think I would have made it without him. His continuous example gives me strength and courage every day. His actions tell me that I, too, can do this. The disease has no cure. We can only control it, but not on our own. We need the constant help, love and support of those who care about us in order to resist the affects of the disease. We need to be around, from time to time, others like us who are handling the disease proactively. We need, from time to time, to reach out to others who are still suffering from the affects of the disease and give them our hand, our heart and our love. This brings me to the reason I am sharing this with you today. I have 28 years now. I have no idea if I will have 28 years and two days or two months or even 29 years. I have 28 years now. I have today. I can only control today, with the grace of God. If you know or suspect that someone you care for or even love might have an issue with addiction, please dont be afraid. Dont hide it. Dont run from it. Dont worry about affecting a relationship. Because if you dont, I promise you one thing, the relationship will be destroyed by this disease. Unchecked, it doesnt stop until everything in its path is destroyed or damaged beyond recognition. If you are reading this and you think that YOU might have an issue, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, I am begging you to have the strength and the courage to send me a private message so we can get together and get you through your first day of 28 years because if you are reading this, you are on my friends list and that means that I LOVE YOU! Thank you Cynthia McKenna and thank you Da! [and Mom too!] I dont care what you have done in the past. All that matters to me is what you do next!
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 13:03:03 +0000
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