Did I do the right thing?

[Keysnurse2008]

Did I do the right thing? I have a close friend.....and that person has been denying they have a alcohol addiction problem. They made me feel guilty for even asking if they had a problem.Things got worse....they refused to get help.They drank...daily. At times to the point of passing out. They have kids involved, young kids. They wouldnt get help ....got angry when asked to get help. It was just a bad situation. He saw no problem with drinking up until he clocked in to work. he denied it until he was in a position and got caught red handed. It was affecting their health, their kids emotional health and they felt they were in "complete" control of their addiction. They are divorced and their ex lives several states away and is not involved in their kids lives. He said he tried to stop drinking on his own and it didnt work out well.....he had an adverse outcome something like a seizure. So...with him still refusing to get help,...or even admit he had a "REAL" problem....I called his state peer assistance program to try and get someone to intervene. I felt like my hands were tied.....like if I didnt do something he would die and his young kids would have no one. I still....feel horrible. It was .....difficult to make that call. So...did I do the right thing? Could I have done something different...was there another way?

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

Jack - I did read it, and it was well worth the time. I was one of those "problem" addicts, as I was called a few times early in rehab. I also look back at the times before I got help and the STUPID things I did to get a fix. I had already lost one nsg job (not the one that turned me in, it was another bridge I burned!) and took a job at McDonalds doing PR and some commercials, that kind of thing. I organized field trips for grade school kids to see the "Mickie D world". I was helping hang a banner from the roof of one of the stores, attaching it to the yellow letters in the front. I think it was about 16 or 18 ft.

Anyway, me and my sick little mind started thinking, "Man, I bet I could score some heavy pain meds if I "fell" off the roof. Crazy, huh?! So, of course, I "fell" off the roof and landed in the flower beds right in front of the store. Thankfully, it had rained earlier in the morning, so the ground was damp and softer. Of course, quite a crowd gathered, and the ambulance rig packaged me up and took me to the ER. Little did I know, all I would get was a shot of Toradol IM and crutches and a sling. Talk about disgusted!

It took me quite a while for me to actually think, "Man, am I glad I didn't end up a quad or para or something. Where was my head? At the bottom of an ampule of Demerol or whatever I thought I would be offered. I finally admitted what I had done. I still see him at times, he and my dh are good friends, and he said he is proud that I got clean and stepped up. I told him bluntly that if I hadn't gotten clean and into treatment, I would be dead. No question about it.

Thanks Jack! Anne, RNC