Today my advice is not targeted solely towards children, as so many of my previous articles have been. It is targeted towards you as a loving and responsible parent.
Please bear with me and know that what I am about to write is not an easy thing to do, 
and it's an even harder thing to have to admit to.
My name is Simone, and (according to my liver,) I'm an alcoholic.
So many times we hear warnings from our friends and family, on the news, and even in the doctor's room, that drinking too much can damage your health. If I had a dollar for every time I'd heard it I would be rich. I may have heard it a million times, but it never sank in. Until last week.
For a while now I had been feeling a bit under the weather, and I just couldnt understand why. As far as I was concerned, I had been of pretty good health, no colds/flu, no viruses, yet I just didnt feel 'right'. All of a sudden I started getting extremely tired, moody, nauseous in the mornings, if I wasnt using birth control I would have thought I was pregnant. Even the doctor was fooled, he did a pregnancy test because he was sure I was pregnant, and sure enough it came up negative, like I knew it would. Then he tried blaming it on depression. Yes I have depression, but no these symptoms arent from that. I was sure there was something else. It was women's instinct.
So, out comes the needle and off we go with a whole heap of blood tests. My regular doctor wasnt there when I went to get the results, so I just saw the first available doctor. The look of confusion on her face when she read the results was priceless. For anyone that knows me, I look like a young and healthy 23year old.
"Your iron levels are fine, your thyroid is fine, cholesterol is not too bad...." Then she stopped dead in her tracks. "Simone, your liver function is very abnormal. Have you been tested for Hepatitis?" Working as a dental assistant for a few years I had had all my Hep B immunisations, bar the booster shot, because I fell pregnant with my first son when I was due to have it. "Do you take recreational intravenous drugs?" "HELL NO." Was my reply. "Do you drink?" "Well maybe just one or two."
One or two was probably the biggest lie I've ever told a doctor. I'm not going to go into detail about exactly how much alcohol I used to drink, if I did, I'd most likely lose you all as friends. But lets just say that years of trying to cover up the demons that haunt me has finally taken its toll on my body. So much so that my liver count is almost 4x over what it's supposed to be.
In short, if I dont stop drinking, there's no two ways about it, I WILL DIE.
I'm proud to say that since I found that news out, on my fiance's birthday of all days, I have only had one very weak drink, as a celebration of his birthday. Since then, although the temptation has been mighty strong, I havent touched a drop. I have a full bottle of rum sitting on top of the cupboard, and each time I walk through the kitchen, it's there staring me in the face. I want it so bad I can taste it. My heart is racing as I'm writing this, and my palms are even sweating, for want of just one drink. But seeing my children grow up means so much more to me than a glass of rum ever could, and if it wasnt for them, I dont think I could quit.
The purpose of my advice is this;
If there's anyone out there who has had to face the same demons as me (and I know I'm not alone - 25,000 people alone die of alcohol related liver disease each year) please, please, please, I'm begging you. Give up the bottle. The liver performs more than 1,500 functions for the body, including more than 300 life-saving procedures. If the liver stops doing its job, all kinds of health problems develop quickly and death can come rapidly.
You owe it to your children to quit while you're ahead.
Thankyou for listening.
(February 2007) (
