My mom has been a drinker since I was around 8 or 10. I'm 29 now. My older sister and brother knew more of the "sober her" than I did. She fell sick a few years ago, couldn't get out of bed, couldn't keep food down. I urged her to go to the hospital, and she did. The determined her levels (potassium, sodium, etc) were low and kept her on fluids a few nights. My sister and I spoke to her doctors and explained that she was an alcoholic and we were concerned her body was shutting down. At that point I believe she was drinking a 1.75 L bottle every day or so. They helped us set her up in a rehab facility. I believe it was a 10ish week program. She went, she wasn't happy about it, but she went. She passed and was sent home. A few weeks later she was drinking again. 2 years later the same thing happened and she was in the hospital again. We again talked to the doctors. They tried to talk to her about it but she was unresponsive. She would gloss over when the subject came up. Either she was embarrassed or just didn't want to admit she had the problem, maybe she just didn't want to deal with it. They told her it was taking a serious toll on her body and made her aware of the risks before sending her home. She passed away 2 weeks later, December of last year. She was only 58. Sometimes I wonder if she was more depressed than addicted, and if we should have tried to help her in that respect. I often struggle with the guilt of not doing more. I know it was not my fault, but anyone struggling with addiction needs a strong support system to make it through.