To - how much I drank

[Guest guest]

, I drank like a fish as a young sailor, and later in life I slowed down

a bit, and actually quit for two years when I met Sharon, my dear wife of 20

years, but it was the attacks of 911 that caused me to dive in to the beer

bottle, and then my wife was diagnosed with a severe illness. It was not long

befor my 12 beers a day landed me in the hospital. It was chest pains. I did

quit smoking then, (2003) but ramped my drinking back up to 12 a day. Our

wonderful mayor changed how we were payed and caused us a tremendous financial

hardship in 2004, and that is when the keg refrigerator went in to the back

bedroom. I was drinking 4 quarts a night when the wheels came off. ( equivalent

to 12 beers approx)

According to the American Liver Foundation, heavy drinkers have a 30% chance of

developing liver disease. This at least partially explains why so many friends

of mine who actually drank more than me did not get sick. This suggests that 70%

do not get sick. I am the only one in my circle of the world who has gotten end

stage liver disease. My weight and genetics had as much to do with it as did the

ammount of drinking. I weighed 350 lbs or I guess 25 stone. Does that sound

right? Anyhow, It is a good thing that you have stopped drinking. Every year I

celebrate anothe year of sobriety at AA and get a cake and special coin, but I

feel guilty because I really truly doubt that I could stay sober if not for my

biopsy report, which is dreadful. It says that I have lot of dead liver and

even more scar tissue. So much in faxct that my liver's archetexture has

collapsed from a micronodular cirrhosis in to a macronodular cirrhosis. Imagine

gathering peas and

sticking them all together, that would be like micronodular, but also imagine

the peas beginning to clump together in to larger balls made up of smallers

ones, like hail stones in a hail storm. That is my liver and it hurts 24 hours a

day like being stabbed. Take care, Bobby