Nah, before I say g'night, I want to show you something.
This is a picture of my brothers and I talking. You can see the tip of my boot. We did this for most of three hours tonight. That's not amazing. What's amazing is that the skinny, bearded guy in the middle is in the picture at all. That's my youngest brother Nathan.
Nate is a Type II bipolar. He started using again about two years ago. We knew something was wrong, but we have a long history, so we didn't know if he was using or just being mentally ill. But then it took a serious detour and we knew what was happening, and it got ugly. That was about thirteen days ago. He was a dead man walking, but my long-suffering sister managed to get him into an ER at Harborview Medical Center, where he spent 10 days detoxing. Then he crawled up inside my guest room on Friday, while we work to get him into a rehab program.
Tonight, my brothers and I spent three hours talking. Nathan is lucid, present, and for the moment, at least, he is committed to the coming rehab. Thad and I - that's Thad on the left - are just happy to have our brother back for a moment.
It was a good night. We talked. We made plans. We tried to keep everything in perspective, and focus on getting through the day. But there was hope. My brother Nate was there, and he was talking.
I wish for all of you that you never have to deal with addiction issues in your family. If you do, I'll be there. My clan will be there. It is my hope that my brother Nathan will be there.
Peace, my friends. I truly do love you all.
