I remember how tough it was when my elderly mother first began to lose it.  It was so easy to blame everything that was happening as her fault because she drank.  Twice, she went into crisis because of blood sugar levels.  She fell to the floor and couldn’t get up, losing Bladder Control and a bit of consciousness.  I just figured she drank so much that she didn’t eat, so it was her fault.

It took a nurse at Desert Medical Center Hospital to explain that this wasn’t just Stress Incontinence or occasional bouts of falling off  the wagon:  she was having serious health issues.  It wasn’t that she was becoming diabetic or anything, but the blood sugar problems turned out to be a symptom of a failing vascular system.  So the blackouts, the loss of memory, the pain in walking—I couldn’t blame her drinking any more for these, though it’s no argument that if she hadn’t been such a drinker for so many years that she would have probably lead a healthier lifestyle.  In any case, I ignored initial warning signs due to her drinking habit, so I guess I can still blame it all the way around.

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