Thirty-three years ago, when I was hell bent on killing myself with drink and drugs…

[WCGreen]

Thethcrowd that I hung around while attending Ohio State were taking bets that I would not live to see 30…

Notice that I did not use the word “with” but specifically chose around because no one wanted any part of me. Because of my excessive drinking, I existed on the fringe, on the outer ring, always looking in and never really being a part of any of the wide variety of social groups a campus the size of OSU has to offer.

There was a nickname, there is always a nickname, and it was inventive, to say the least. One of the wags had seen the movie, “The Lost Weekend,” and the title character, a man who was drinking himself to death, was played with gusto by the actor Ray Milland. After only two quarters at OSU, people took to calling me Ray.

Every weekend at OSU was lost to me.


http://mylungtransplantyears.wordpress.com/about


The latest post on my LuTransplantlnt Blog

[ensho]

1. glad you are still with us

hang in

[w8liftinglady]

2. WC...a lot of us can relate to this

what you described is similar to my life...college..marriage..divorce..it was always some excuse.
addiction is sneaky that way.until we admit the problem exists,it will never leave...and people like us must always be on guard...I'm there in solidarity,bro.
bless.
Beth

[HopeHoops]

3. Been there, done that.

[Pavulon]

4. Glad you escaped from the spiral..

tremendous number of people get pulled into the depression / alcohol spiral and do not get out.

[WCGreen]

5. The hard part is not letting my illness over whelm me....

[Pavulon]

6. I have a family member who swears time management saves him..

he does not allow idle time. If he is not working he is spending time with his kids and if they are not there he is exercising. He cycles. The training just does not allow him to drink at all.

The other guys he rides with train in the am and compete. That works for him, keeps him focused and not bored. He figured out boredom was his trigger.

I do wish you the best.

[H2O Man]

7. I'm glad that you

are with us today.

"There's no shame in saying you used to be a drunk. There is shame in saying that you are still a drunk, refusing to do anything to change." -- Malcolm X

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Proud to recommend!

You have battled your demons, and you are getting the better of them. That is something to be proud of...

Well written, of course. Just riveting to read.

Thank you, Chris, for taking us with you on this incredible journey that is your life...

[myrna minx]

9. Glad you're still with us.

:grouphug:

[MinneapolisMatt]

10. Glad you are here!

:grouphug:

[Primitive Mind]

11. I'm one of the lucky ones

I walked right up to the edge of that hell that is substance addiction and stopped myself. I had my first, and thank god only, case of delerium tremens. That was enough to stop me.

Glad you were able to make it out of that pit.

[WCGreen]

12. I plan on giving the lead I never gave over two installments soon...

When I sobered up in 1984, the only real help I could get was from AA and since I never accepted that there was a higher power over me, many thought that I was not practicing sobriety or that I could remain sober...

So to be true to myself, I did not lie about the first step and so I could not honestly give a lead.

The blog is about my lung transplant but since part of the reason I am in the situation I am right now was because of Alcohol and substance abuse.

I more than likely would have developed some kind of pulmonary problems simply because of my underlaying condition, but perhaps it would not have been as severe.

[Mokoil]

13. I know the feeling

I spent 25 years in hard core party mode.

[political_Dem]

14. K and R. As we grow older, we always evolve and develop wisdom.

Best wishes.

:hug: :thumbsup:

[applegrove]

15. You are an inspiration.