re: Do you know anyone who drank themselves to death?

Yes, unfortunately

I had a great uncle who did. He was an alcoholic for years and years, but had been doing better around the time he broke his leg and couldn't work. He sat in his apartment and drank and drank. He wouldn't eat anything, really, he'd just drink. Anyone who would come visit he'd hit them up to go buy him something to drink.

My Pops went to visit him one evening and was talking to him. They were close. My great uncle was a master plumber and electrician, and was damn good at it when he wasn't drinking. He taught my Pops a whole lot over the years. Anyway, my Dad asked him if he needed anything. He replied, "You know what I need." Pops told him he'd get him anything else but that. He just told Dad to leave.

Pops came home and told my mom that my uncle would be dead by morning. Mom kind of laughed it off. Turns out, he was right. Someone called Pops at work and told him they couldn't get our uncle to the door, and that they had tried several times throughout the day.

Dad went over there after he got off work at 7pm (he worked 12 hour swings). Because he owned the building my uncle lived in he had a key. Dad opened it, and sure enough.....my great uncle was dead. He, evidently, had hemorrhaged in his stomach and puked blood everywhere, eventually bleeding out in his kitchen.

Possibly the worst part of this story happened after that discovery. The building my uncle lived in was located in an odd area. It was not in the city, but was covered under it for some things, other things the county covered. It was always a mess in that regard. Pops called the coroner who came out. He pronounced my uncle dead, but wouldn't arrange for removal of the body. He referred my dad to someone or some entity in the city (I was young and it has been a while since I heard the story). Those people said they weren't the ones to handle it, to call so-and-so.

At this point my great uncle had been dead in the apartment for over 36 hours. Pops tried one more time with the coroner, but was given the run around. His response was, "Okay, I'm just going to back the truck up to the stairs, tie a rope to his feet and my bumper, and I'm going to drag him out into the road. He will damn sure be your problem then."

That, apparently, isn't exactly legal. Cops showed up in under ten minutes. My Dad was in the process of getting ready to do exactly what he said. Police cuffed him and put him in the back of a patrol car. The coroner showed up a bit later and had the body removed. Pops was released with no charges. Problem solved.





Anyone who read this whole thing, it is a 100% true story. And I believe 100% that Pops would have dragged my uncle out of that apartment and into the road. I also believe, given the circumstances, that my great uncle would have had no hard feelings over it.

Yes multiple people.

My mother died of alcohol-induced cirrhosis almost a year ago. She was only 55. Looked absolutely terrible on her death bed. Really made me appreciate how much abuse the liver can withstand and how quickly everything can go to shite once the liver fails.

She'd been a relatively heavy drinker for many years, but over the last five years of her life she and her husband (my stepfather) would go on these huge binges, sometimes for a week or more, with multiple episodes of complete blackout drunkenness. It would not shock me if her husband suffers the same fate very soon.

I ain’t dead yet.

My uncle. 12 pack a day or more.

Yes. My neighbor. His estranged wife and his brother found him when they came to do an intervention.

So sad. He had two young kids. He just couldn’t stop drinking.

Yes.
She finally died in her 50s. Family and friends tried for years to get her to stop,but to no avail.

My mother did.