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Just wanted to update everybody and say thank you once again!
The power of prayer is amazing and I love watching God work!!

My Brother in law called my wife yesterday after getting results from leukemia test and the Dr said it was clear and he was not even sure why the first doctor had sent him over... so that was the best news possible there.

I took Dave to a primary care doctor last week and he got a basic physical and told him what was going on. He told the doctor he averaged 2-5 drinks a day, but pretty sure the Dr. knew it was more than that when he commented about the size of his liver... He set him up with an onsite counselor, gave him a prescription for something and requested some lab work, then told Dave to quit smoking and find an A/A meeting and schedule a followup for 2 weeks. Dave met with the counselor but only about 5 minutes... she was a 20 something female and Dave’s comment on the way out the door was she is not old enough to be able to understand or help with my problems...

We went back to his house to use GoodRX.com to find the cheapest prescription and get labs scheduled. As soon as we got there, he made a drink and I started feeling like I was wasting my time after spending the 3rd full day with him in a week. We scheduled the labs and luckily cheapest place to fill script was his grocery store, because he wanted a ride there too... so we went and got it filled. While waiting, he tried their free blood pressure machine... 3 hours earlier, it was in a good range at 135/85 and after a couple drinks it jumped to the high side at 154/95, but he mentioned a couple times on the way home that he did not think his problem could be the alcohol... so he still was not “getting it” which again made me think nothing was going to change.

We got back to his place and he asked if I would be able to come back tomorrow to take him for his lab work. I said I have not even checked my email in 2 days and I should probably see if I had any work pressing before I commit to that... He called me before I even got home and asked me same question again and I told him I had not made it home yet and that I would call him back as soon as I got there and checked. He said he had a couple other people he could ask and I said why don’t you check with them in the mean time?

I called him back about an hour later and got his machine, so left a message... He never called back and I assumed he found a ride or was going to just blow it off... He called me later the next morning and told me he was just getting back from having them done... so I felt a little better that he did something on his own.

Over the weekend he called and we were talking awhile and he said he was trying to stop or least cut way back on his drinking and I said well that is good, because the last thing the Doctor recommended that you have not done, finding an A/A meeting... I said since I am your eyes lately, I did look it up on the internet and found that there is a daily meeting every 8am at the church barely over a mile south from your house. He said really, maybe I will look into it? I left it at that, not wanting to push... Monday when he called he said he had not had a drink (except only a beer) in 2 days... then Tuesday evening called again and said he almost made it 3 days but he had went and got a bottle of whiskey and made a couple drinks... then said if you still have that number, I think I need to call about an A/A meeting. I said well I am not positive it is still a valid location, and there was no phone number for that specific meeting, only one for all of Phoenix... He said well give me that number and I will call and see.

When he called yesterday, he had gone to his first meeting... and that it was alright (more like what you see on TV than he thought it would be), then said those were definitely his people and if anybody could understand him it would be them. He drove himself to that first meeting even though he can’t see good enough to be on the road... almost got in an accident leaving there and said he was done driving until the doctor cleared him now... but met a guy there that would come get him whenever he wanted to go to a meeting.

He called again today and had gone to a second meeting... he also got a call from his doctor and labs all came back pretty much normal for his age, so it looks even more like it may be alcohol related with all tests coming back normal. He is certainly not done with recovery and eyes are no better, but on the other hand, no worse either and it sounds like he might finally be ready to wake up and see what the alcohol is doing to him, hopefully his vision starts clearing up soon and maybe it will set it in stone that it was the problem...