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.

I don't usually check in from work , but I will today . Not that I can do much ,m other than support you and your brother right now. But I sending out the hang in there and do the right thing ma~~~~

Steph, I am so sorry that this situation with your brother has gotten kind of scary. I hope everything levels out and starts to run the right way.

Thinking good thoughts for you, your brother and your family.

Me too, Teppy.

Thanks, you guys. SO MUCH.

I talked to him about half an hour ago -- his wife got home from work, they went to (IIRC) a walk-in substance abuse clinic, the clinic people evaluated him and immediately sent him to the hospital to be admitted for 3-4 days. He doesn't know yet whether, at the end of those 3-4 days, he'll be in an inpatient rehab program or an outpatient program. I guess they'll figure that out as he detoxes.

I know he has a long haul in front of him, but this immediate withdrawal/detox period is so scary, he just needed to get medical help. That's what I was most scared about. I am SO RELIEVED. I have no words for how relieved I am.

That's a huge relief, Tep, I'm glad he's under care.

Blessings on you all, Steph.

Thank GOODness he is in care. It will be a long, rough haul but getting over the medical crisis makes all the rest doable.