An interesting read

[greeneyes]

While this article by Mickey Mantle is a bit dated, it's relevance is not. A few month after the article was written, there was a diagnosis of liver cancer followed by a transplant a year later. Two months later there was a funeral.

After 42 years of alcohol abuse, a legendary ballplayer - 04.18.94 - SI Vault

Please make your serious commitment now.

[KatieB]

An interesting read

Thanks Greeneyes,
A very interesting read.. I could definately see some of my behaviours and reasons for drinking in common with that man.. pretty scary - i so want to sort myself out now, before its too late..

[Stargazerlily]

An interesting read

Really interesting article. It clearly illustrates the progression of the disease. I heard his shame, regrets, and sadness due to his drinkng. He wasted so much of his life, and you could tell while he was in it, he had lost control. Thanks for sharing this thought provoking piece.

[Tabbers (a.k.a. KTAB)]

An interesting read

Thanks Greeny, that was well worth the long read. It wasnt till I finished reading that I realised in your initial post how the story ended. He sounded like a decent man and its an awful pity that so soon after he as he saw the light his life ended.

[hillsidetime]

An interesting read

Thanks Greeneyes, I did enjoy the article. It is so strange to think how many aspects of my life used to be so involved with alcohol in similar ways.
Hill

[greeneyes]

An interesting read

KTAB;916926 wrote: Thanks Greeny, that was well worth the long read. It wasnt till I finished reading that I realised in your initial post how the story ended. He sounded like a decent man and its an awful pity that so soon after he as he saw the light his life ended.

Yes, KTAB. My point is that we fool ourselves saying I'll quit "tomorrow, next week, first of the month, after the holidays...... He turned it around and had high hopes for how he was going to live his life but it was too late. There does come a time when it is too late for your body.

On another note.... when he got his liver transplant, there was public outrage. Livers are not readily available and the public was angered that he got one. They felt the medical system allowed him to "buy" it and that there were others who were more deserving in that thier liver had not failed by their own hand.

[Tabbers (a.k.a. KTAB)]

An interesting read

I agree totally and I posted a link to this brief bit on another thread recently about George Best. It also caused outrage at the time he was given the transplant. It was hard to watch him on tv interviews in the last years as he was one of the greatest footballers ever and a lovely, charming man with a boy-ish grin. Pele himself once describing the Belfast Boy as the 'greatest footballer in the world'.
He just never found His Way Out. They named the international airport in Belfast in his honour after his death and his funeral cortege was like that of a king with over 100,000 lining the route in torrential rain.

'George Best, legendary Manchester United soccer forward and pop icon, lost his lifelong battle with alcoholism Friday, Nov. 25, 2005. Best, who continued to return to the drink in spite of incarceration for drunken driving and a liver transplant, is a perfect example that some alcoholics never find recovery no matter the consequences.
Best, 59, died Friday after being hospitalized with internal bleeding as a result of a reaction to the medication that he was taken to curb his drinking. After his liver transplant in 2001, Best swore he would never drink again, but was soon seen again drinking in pubs.

Thousands of fans throughout the United Kingdom and around the world mourned the passing of Best, who was considered by some to be the most talented player of his generation."

[spedteach]

An interesting read

Ms. Greeny,
Thanks so much for the interesting article. I literally had to stop everything I was doing to finish it. And I do remember the outrage over his getting a transplant. Also remember when my sister was dying of cirrhosis she would talk about how everything would be "fine" when she got a new liver. I knew she would never quit drinking. Guess her docs knew too. Some people are hopelessly alcoholic. What an awful way to live one's life. Sometimes quitting tomorrow is too late.

[dancelot]

An interesting read

Thanks for sharing this, Greenie.

[Doggygirl]

An interesting read

Thank you Greenie.

DG

[techie]

An interesting read

He was a legend in baseball. Thanks for posting Greenie. There is little I haven't read about "Mick"