I'm glad your brother has someone near(ish) who understands the situation, Steph.

Oh, Steph!! That's scary. I do understand the pride thing, and yet it might be time to get over that. I'm glad he's talking to a friend who's been there. I hope his wife gets home soon.

JZ, I love your take on a knitting bender.

If it gets really bad, in your shoes I would look up local law enforcement's regular dispatch number, call them and explain that you have reason to believe your brother, a resident of that locality, is having a medical emergency but unable to call for help.

Lots of warm, comforting, non-hug thoughts to you, Tep. And lots of getting through this with neurons intact ~ma for your brother.

For Lush lovers [link] Lush has chosen to support the Wildcat Sanctuary of Minnesota with charity pots and some other neat things.

Steph, if it makes you feel better, Amy Winehouse did not die from alcohol withdrawal (although there was speculation of that at first because she had been sober for a bit). She died of alcohol poisoning: [link]

Oh Steph, sending as much ~ma as I can to you and your brother.

All ~ma for Steph and brother.

If it gets really bad, in your shoes I would look up local law enforcement's regular dispatch number, call them and explain that you have reason to believe your brother, a resident of that locality, is having a medical emergency but unable to call for help.

Andi is me, in this.

I have avoided commenting because there is no point in adding fuel to the fear fire, but alcohol withdrawal can be as life-threatening as the toxin. Which, I'm sure you already know Tep, given your research.

In my substance abuse course, one of the profs gave us a very simple, and no pun intended, sobering home-truth. If you put 10 heroin addicts in a room over a weekend to go cold turkey, along with 10 alcoholics, on Monday morning 2 of the heroin addicts would be dead. 8 of the alcoholics would have died.

Having put my father in medical rehab more than once, I respect your brother's courage, but this is not something that willpower can control. There is no predicting how his body will react.

Granted, my father's case was much worse, but they had to put him into a coma, to get him through it...more than once.

I sincerely hope your brother allows people to be with him and that he gets the chemical support he needs to come down off the toxin healthfully.

I sincerely hope your brother allows people to be with him and that he gets the chemical support he needs to come down off the toxin healthfully.

I will feel much better when I know he's at the hospital.

I'm sending the strongest ~ma possible that you BOTH get what you need.

Consider yourself supported in the best feeling way.