Drug abuse, my brother is dying

[stovebolts]

I just found out... it's my step brother and I am about a month and a half older than him, but I consider him as my brother. We met when I was 8 or 9. We had our first fight when about the same time. My Dad sat us in the living room across from one another and after our lecture, said, that the bigger man should go over and shake the others hand.. as I got the stare.

So I got up, walked across the room and as my brother held out his hand, I sucker punched him in the gut.

Such was our relationship through the years, but I loved him as a brother anyway and even though we fought a lot growing up, we had a lot of good times too. Way more good times than bad for sure.

I remember sitting in our basement getting ready for school. We were always stoned and our weekends were full of alcohol and more weed. Actually, the only earthquake Spokane Wa. ever had that I can remember, we were in the basement getting stoned... Didn't even know we were in an earthquake.

My brother never did get away from drug use and it only escalated. Sure, he held a job for many, many years. I suppose you could have called him a functioning alcoholic / drug abuser, but a few years ago it kind of caught up with him and he finally lost his job, played the unemployment card and when that ran out, he sobered up enough to get another job, but it didn't last.

I saw him last summer when I went back to Spokane and he didn't look right. He's a pretty big guy... about 6 foot and around 215, but solid, not fat. Last summer he looked like a shell and I don't think he was a pound over a buck 60 and his eyes were sinking in. My Dad said it was the oxycotton that he was shooting.

So I just found out that he's in ICU for bacterial endocarditis, which I believe is directly linked to his drug abuse (injections) and if he survives, they will need to do open heart surgery. Honesty, I'm just not sure.

About a month ago I found out through Facebook that a good friend of mine had also died a few years ago to drug abuse.

I hate drugs...

 

[handy]

Sorry to hear about this, Jeff.

I hate them too....no political ranting can make up for the heartbreak and destruction that drugs cause. (And for the purpose of this discussion, I count alcohol as a drug.)

I pray that he finds the peace of Christ through all of this...and I'm praying for you right now as well...you've lost too much to this garbage.

 

[reba]

Mike,

That is an awful pain to bare. Can ya get to him to tell him about the Lord? I hear you as i hate drugs

 

[stovebolts]

Hi Reba,

I'm not Mike...

I can't just fly from here to Wa. I will if I have to attend a funeral, but other than that, I've already planned to fly out in June when my daughter graduates.

I don't believe in cheap grace, even when it's my brother. We grew up together and he choose his path and I choose mine. I believe that salvation starts here on earth... God wants to save us now from destruction caused by sinful living. For my brother, it may be too late. He's been living a life of living hell these past few years... sin has a way of doing that. Is death the only way to escape it, or is death a continuance of the choices we make on earth?

I have another younger brother coming out of Prison I think this year and I used that as leverage to get my Step Mom to go to church. I can't tell you what a blessing it was last summer to go to church with her last year and she was praising God! Anyway, I told her that it was up to her to provide a safe environment for my other brother when he got out, or he too would go back to his drug abuse and either die, or go back to prison. I also told her that she would be the light for the rest of her children and that they would follow her, but she had to make that first step.

I don't know what my step mom has been saying to my brother, but I do pray that he is receptive, and if he survives this, that it will be a wake up call for him to get his life straight.

Dora,
Thank you so much!

 

[stovebolts]

I just got off the phone with my step Mom....

They have him in an induced coma and it was confirmed that his valve failure was due to shooting oxycotton. He's been shooting for 2 years now and it's finally taken it's toll. To cope with the withdrawl, they have put him on methadone.

It's not looking good for him right now. He is responding well to the antibiotics for the bacteria that's gotten into his blood but he's got a tough road ahead of him. His two heart valves are pussed up not allowing the blood to be pumped to the rest of the body. They call it regurgitation, and it's severe as his valves are so infected, they are not closing all the way.

He is scheduled for open heart surgery next Tuesday if he survives the week. They can't take him in for surgery right now because of his withdrawl from oxycotton and his blood infection. They anticipate at his present course that both will be gone by next Tuesday, so the dice falls on if his heart will hold out another week...

It didn't have to be this way... He knew the risks he was taking because my step mom warned him over and over, but the drugs do what drugs do... they addict you.

No mother should have to bury their son...

 

[stovebolts]

If anyone is interested in what it's like to be addicted to drugs, this is his myspace page.

Michael Botzon (Michael) on Myspace

 

[Nathan]

Jeff, I hate to hear things like this. I know what it does to our own hearts, but it always reminds me of what God must feel like each and every day. What tremendous emotion He must go through every day!

I was addicted to drugs once. I know what they can do. If I had the pictures on here I would show people. I too went from a very healthy state, to one that scares me when I look at the pictures now. All the time not really grasping the reality of the situation.

I hope to hear good news later.

 

[Mike]

Wow, Jeff.

All things considered, it really sounds like this was received recently and is spiraling down in a hurry. Even with the history, it has got to be hard to accept. I only know what you've shared here, but besides to him, my heart goes out to your step-mother who is experiencing what parents fear the most. She's no doubt been through a lot of pain; your whole family has.

I can't sympathize as drugs haven't impacted my family, so I can only empathize. You must have a lot of emotions going through your heart.

I'm sorry.

 

[Exorcist]

Rush Limbaugh got addicted to oxycontin I think, because he was taking it for back pain or something, I think that's a pretty common thing, people start taking it for back surgery or something and become addicted to it.

For him, it's not such a big deal, other than he has to go to extra legal means to acquire enough, and he can afford it.

I don't really know why oxycontin is killing him, is it simply the drug that's killing him?

Anyways, for hundreds of years in China, it was the children's responsibility to provide opium for their elders, in their old age, to smoke, so they could enjoy their last years, in a kind of pain free bliss. The problem was, so many people became addicted to Opium, when they started mass producing it for world trade, and it became so plentiful and cheap.

I personally believe, that fasting can cure such addictions, fasting for two weeks. The body begins craving food more than drugs, and when the reward of food, becomes a more powerful sensation, the mind simply doesn't care about the drug anymore, it cares about food, and it just sort of rewires your brain. you could always get re-addicted to drugs, afterwards, but you would at least, know what you are going to do to yourself again.

Sometimes, people simply need a goal to attain, a purpose in life, and it's just sort of a game. Animals live to hunt, they don't just hunt for food, they hunt for the fun of it, too. Drugs become a sort of game, where the reward is more intense than sex, or intense satisfaction from food or sleep.



There is, however, another aspect to this, there ARE evil spirits, that stalk us, who simply enjoy tormenting human beings. Africans believe, they are the vengeful dead, coming to take revenge for things, we've done to others, and I don't discount that's possible, but it doesn't always seem to be , that the guilty are punished, and the good rewarded, in fact, it seems as though these beings have an inherent dislike for good people, nice people, which seems bizarre, but arrogant people are like that sometimes, they worship strength and power, and hate weakness. These spirits may be Aliens, or they may be the gods of this world, or both, hybrids, from sex with aliens. They delight in exercising their power cruelly, over us, dominating us, in intricate, complex ways, and the fact we cannot understand their diabolical mechanations, gives them even more delight, and intense feelings of superiority.

 

[stovebolts]

Thank you Nate and Mike,

Yes, it is very recent. He went into the hospital Thursday evening and I was just told about it this morning as it has seriously become life threatening. I hate that about my parents... they don't tell me anything if fear of "Needless worry". To their benifit one thing I do know, is that if my brother dies, I won't be told about it until after 8pm, when they are sure that I'm safe at home. For that, I'm thankful because I don't think anyone should be told that their brother dies while they are at work, not to mention the drive home I have... They know that wouldn't be right.

I am a bit confused, and I'm wondering if he is going in for open heart surgery tomorrow or next Tuesday... It's so hard to keep it all straight.

Exorcism,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for your reply. With that, I'll pass on your comments regarding aliens etc. It's just too far fetched for me, but thanks anyway.

Unlike Rush, my brother was shooting oxycotton directly into his veins. It was the needle that caused the bacterial infection to both of his heart valves. This isn't that uncommon (heart infection) for anyone who has to inject themselves on a regular basis. However, it's a bit tougher for a drug addict to get clean needles, and often they share them or they are too high to worry about cleaning them properly... as long as they get their fix, that's what they worry about.. It's about the moment for them.

Compound the bacterial infection that went from his heart valves into his blood stream with a dose of withdrawal from the oxycotton and basically the deck is stacked quadruple against you.

Apparently when you go through withdrawal, it takes it's toll on your heart, even when your given methadone in it's place. So his physical body is fighting not only bacteria caused by dirty needles, but it's fighting withdrawal that without the methadone could kill him even if his heart was 100%.

My brothers addiction didn't come over night. It started back when I was 11 smoking weed and for him, has escalated to where he is today.

 

[PouringRain]

Sorry to hear about your brother.

 

[stovebolts]

Thank you PouringRain,
I was talking to my step mom earlier and she's really angry with him. She's told him many times that this could happen and that he needed to get his head out of his behind and wake up... She's really struggling with being angry and trying to deal with the hurt.

It makes me mad too. People who get sucked into drugs are... eh... never mind. Not sure if I want to go there. deep breath...

 

[Caroline H]

I prayed for your brother, you and your family today Jeff. I'm so sorry you all are going through this.

 

[stovebolts]

Thank you Caroline.

I wish we didn't have to go through this either... Actually, we didn't have to go through this...That's the part that sucks. Well, one of the parts. It's not fun to watch somebody you love ruin their life. It doesn't happen right away, and that's what people don't see. It happens over the course of years.

Actually, we have a daughter that we share.. It's a long story, don't ask right now. But if he dies, actually, it doesn't matter... Our daughter smokes weed and it's something I've been completely against for years. I know she's done other drugs because we can talk openly about that stuff and she knows where I stand, but I'm going to ask her what makes her so radically different than her biological mother who's strung out on drugs, or her bioogical dad who's in the hospital because of his drugs? If my brother dies because of this, I'm going to tell her that I don't want to bury her 20 years down the road too.

These two video's kinda sum up my feelings about now.

[video=youtube;qlWioD2Fmc0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlWioD2Fmc0[/video]

People think that this next one is over exaggerated. I say it just starts to skim the surface.

[video=youtube;nMwxWHaZUro]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMwxWHaZUro&feature=related[/video]

 

[jasoncran]

i'm sorry about this ,,jeff. i remember a few months talking about your brother to me. i lost three friends two oxycotin addiction. the mother had to bury her brother and her son and daughter. she also lost her sister to this stuff.

 

[reba]

Stovebolts,

The videos are NOT over the top.

Drugs kill our loved ones. If they are not dead in 'the body' it kills the spirit, empties the life right out of folks..

Hearing you have been there and OUT ,Praise God, is a blessing of hope!

Sorry about the wrong name....

 

[Nick]

I'm really sorry, Jeff. I will be praying hard about this one. As you said, this thing can easily be avoided, and that's what makes it even more painful.

Our government put a series of anit-drug ads on a couple of years ago, similar to those two.

[video=youtube;kLlwNq1cKb8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLlwNq1cKb8[/video]

[video=youtube;qSXrTrhx6Us]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSXrTrhx6Us&feature=related[/video]

This one's from New Zealand. It's hard to watch.

[video=youtube;pVRO_a6pQB8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVRO_a6pQB8&NR=1&feature=fvwp[/video]

 

[jasoncran]

pot has detox period of two weeks per doobie smoked. longer then a hit of crack(3 days).go figure.

 

[westtexas]

My prayers are with you Jeff. I've seen it way too many times. It's never easy, especially with someone you love. I pray for peace for your brother and for you.
God bless, Ray

 

[Danny63]

Hey Jeff,

I do not know you to well I am sort of new here but let me extend my deepest concern here for your family and yourself. I was addicted for many years and have a lot of heart trouble because of it, but in 2001 God delivered me from the drugs. My brother never made it out alive, in 2001 same year I got saved, he passed, he was 47. It is hard I know.

I will surly lift yous all up in prayer and especially praying for your step mom, this is the hardest thing a parent ever would have to go through.

God bless you brother.