For the first few hours on Sunday, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I immediately got in the shower and dressed. As we drove to my in laws for brunch I still couldn’t believe what my cousin, his parents, and other family members were going home three hundred miles away. I then became angry that he would drink so much in a short period of time to end up in the intensive care unit. I had myself convinced that he was dared or someone bet him that he couldn’t drink something or whatever.

By the time we had finished with brunch, my anger had turned to being upset and I felt that I had to get in the car and drive out there. Yet, on the other hand, I had responsibilities here and couldn’t just leave at the drop of a hat. At that point, my husband and I agreed that when we got home I would call and get an update on his condition before we made the decision of whether or not I was going to make the trip.

It was about mid afternoon when I was able to get my update and was relieved that his condition had improved greatly and was off the ventilator. He was awake, and talking coherently. This is when more of the story came to light. He apparently, left his home, met a friend and went to a Halloween party at the home of his boss. He apparently had drank alcohol before arriving at the party. Some point while at the party, he had fallen down the step. His friends drove him home where he had passed out on his front porch. Without getting into any gory details, it was obvious to his friends that something was wrong and they called 911 and notified his parents of what was going on. He said he couldn’t remember anything except for sitting on a stool in the basement at the party.

I still couldn’t figure out why he drank so much. I needed to find answers and that took me to the internet. I couldn’t talk to him yet to hear what he had to say but I needed to do something. While seeking this information on the internet, I came across a few sites that mentioned addictions in adoptees are higher than the norm. Once I saw this, it had peaked my curiosity.

Note: Photograph taken by Karen Sterner at Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, VA