Had he lived, my brother would have been celebrating his 79th birthday today.
Instead he passed away from the complications of alcoholism at Sunset Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.
His death occurred a few months after he angrily stormed out of one of TLC's Las Vegas, facilities after telling the manager to "go fuck himself." After he left TLC he went to work in the maintenance department at a casino near Stateline, Nevada until he went to the hospital.
While I'm not sure ;of the exact cause of his death I do believe it had to do with his lifestyle which for most of his life was similar to mine: alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. A body can only take so much before it breaks down.
Even though we had a poor relationship, when I heard he was passing I flew from Mesa to visit him one last time, even though he'd told one of my grandchildren that he didn't want to see me. And he got his wish because he passed away before I was able to pay him a final visit.
Today, I wish we'd had a better relationship at the end but it just wasn't meant to be. Alcohol ruins many relationships and ours was no exception. Still I loved my brother and as children we were best of friends. Only when substances intervened did things change - as it does so many relationships...
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