Binge drinker dies at 22

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Speedy Claire

I feel that with alcohol being sold at "pocket money" prices together with the UK`s lax alcohol laws it`s not surprising that young people are drinking to excess and I think that sadly we`ll be seeing a lot more of these cases.

Alcohol is cheap to produce and we have laws that re supposed to restrict the access of children to it, so why should we ALSO raise the price - they will just end up finding the money some other way.

I also disagree that the parents being in the middle of a divorce is any excuse for them dropping the ball and letting their 11 year old kid start to drink regularly.

Not read the story and not really interested TBH.

But maybe this will be a heads up to some kids who think that they'll do a "George Best" and get a new liver on the NHS. Or perhaps it will give parents or partners an arguement as to why their loved one should stop binge drinking.

Originally Posted by Speedy Claire

Very judgemental Matt. How do you know that his parents didn`t take much notice of anyone else after they`d split up?? I have a friend who has done everything within her and her husbands power to help their son through alcohol abuse. What do you do though when your son is lying on the floor crying and shaking and begging for just one drink? They had an injunction served on him to stay away from their home and now as a last resort to help him their son is in prison as he couldn`t stay away from them. How do you think they feel having put their son in prison? how do you think they would feel hearing a negative comment such as "they obviously didn`t take much notice of anyone else"?

Thoughtless words Matt... maybe in some situations they are relevant but not in all.

Not to insult but please open your mind and you might see how your friends prove my point entirely. I have no doubt your friends must be going through hell it may seem like cruelty to deny someone something so simple as a drink. But that in its self is the problem our attitude towards what is essentially a chemical its no more than a drug served in liquid form.
For some people it’s nectar for the devil in them and these people need help and support to become strong enough to deny them selves what they desire.
From what you write your friends are hero’s not many people can be that strong, its testament to the friends and support which also surround them.
I’d imagine it will be damn near ruining their lives to see their son like this, but still they do it! Its the love and care that they have for him that they know in the long run its better for him to stay away from drinking and so are willing to go through all this to get to that place.
My stab at this lads family was based on that they’ve let it get to a point where he is going to die/has died. No matter how you word it even if they’ve done lots to help him they haven’t done everything. IMHO if they havn’t locked him in a room with a bucket and had his food/water delivered to him (as if in prison) then they havn’t done enough to try and save that lost life. Any young life lost is a is sad news to hear about but when it’s a life that could have been saved if people had displayed as much courage as your friends are displaying then well that’s just a terrible tragedy.

Again, your friends have my upmost respect. But in the case of the story shown if don’t think it’s the NHS that’s let this lad down.

Originally Posted by keithd

from what i read he did indeed have the chance. he was told he had to stay off it for 6 months before being considered which he didnt or couldnt do. therefore, its my opinion that in this instance the correct decision was made. why give a healthy liver to somebody who cannot show they have the strength and will power to not abuse the gift of a second chance they've been given and destroy it once more.

if my child was waiting a liver and this guy gets it, i learn later that he's destroyed it again i aint gonna be happy.

Different reports I guess, mine must be right though lol.

what if your child needed a liver, someone got it and then they got knocked down by a bus...? Anything could happen to anyone who got a new liver or any other organ,

the right to life decided by those who play god...

Originally Posted by 454697819

Different reports I guess, mine must be right though lol.

what if your child needed a liver, someone got it and then they got knocked down by a bus...? Anything could happen to anyone who got a new liver or any other organ,

the right to life decided by those who play god...

erm, are you saying that being knocked down by a bus - complete accident - and drinking the liver to oblivion - intentional - are the same thing? if not, then i fail to see your point.

those who play god as you describe them are doctors. trained professionals who make judgment calls each and every day that people's lives depend upon.

i think they got it right, given the information i'm party to.

Originally Posted by 454697819

the right to life decided by those who play god...

No, a difficult decision made by a group of people charged by the system with allocating scarce resources. There's no playing involved.

Would you rather no one made a decision meaning that all the patients died?

Grow up.

Originally Posted by keithd

erm, are you saying that being knocked down by a bus - complete accident - and drinking the liver to oblivion - intentional - are the same thing? if not, then i fail to see your point.

those who play god as you describe them are doctors. trained professionals who make judgment calls each and every day that people's lives depend upon.

i think they got it right, given the information i'm party to.

You word it better than i could.

People who give abuse to anyone who its trained in something that they them selves know nothing about need to seek a wall for banging your head against. Imagine how your day may alter if you have to make a decision which ulitmatly ends a life, would you expect time off from the rest of the week to gather your thoughts and compose yourself. Or would you willingly walk into the next cubilce with a brave smile to treat a firghtened todler who has a chest infection.
I dated a nurse and seen the effect a hospital can have on a person these people need praise, not abuse!

There are naturally some hard decisions here and we are not privy to how they were arrived at.

I can't get away from this lad's age.

But there are much wider implications about how we prioritise resources in a health service with increasing burdens - obesity is said to be becoming a national epidemic, and I do believe that for the first time in many years smoking is on the rise.

Should we deny heart bypass treatment to smokers? Should we turn away people who cannot stop eating? or drinking?

Originally Posted by Ed

Should we deny heart bypass treatment to smokers? Should we turn away people who cannot stop eating? or drinking?

If the sole cause of the medical issue is the person's own doing through excessive means then it is a yes in my books.

[timwilky]

I have to agree with the decision.


As well as all my wife's other complications she also suffers from two liver diseases. Primary biliary cirrhosis and auto immune hepatitis. When people hear the cirrhosis word they automatically assume alcoholic liver disease and question should she be drinking.

We used to attend the liver centre at St Jame's (Jimmys) in Leeds as our local health authorities do not have any hepatologist and she was being seen by a gastro man. Going there was an eye opener, about 40% of the patients at the liver clinic obviously liked their pop.

They were strict with the wife, she was overweight and she was told that there was no way they would consider a transplant until she lost it. But as she was not yet in clinical need of the transplant she has time to loose it.

Same rules apply, unless you are physically able to support your transplanted organ, why should a valuable and rare resource be wasted on you.