"He's drunk, and fell on the floor, won't be riding today"

A bad ending to a good day. 

I got up early, took my shower, did my God time.  Got dressed, my aunt came and got me.  We ran by a gas station and got drinks, then went to my Doc. 

It was an interesting show.  One patient was clearly very manic, wearing cat ears and a lot of makeup, very restless, talking loudly and a lot.  I did my best to ignore her.  We saw Doc.  He was disappointed to hear about Ron doing worse.  He likes Ron. 

He was happy to hear I am stable, and verified that with my aunt.  Doc likes to have family in the mix to provide good feedback on things like that. 

We finished up and went out to lunch.  We had a good time, a nice day out.  Ron texted me and asked for batteries, and whaddya know?  The restaurant is right next to a Walmart.  We got him the batteries and she took me home. 

I helped him with some accounting stuff and then took a nap.  Biscuit joined me, he curled up next to me and I held his paw (loosely) in my hand as I slept.  So cute!  He's an average lookin' cat (the gray and white one) but he is sweeter than a 10 pound bag of sugar. 

I got up and got ready to go out to dinner with Ron.  Ron got up and began drinking.  He went in his bedroom to get dressed.  I didn't hear a crash, but when I went to check on him I found him on the floor, sitting on his butt.  He was pulling on the bedsheet, trying to pull himself up.  He just managed to pull the bedsheet off the bed.  I tried to direct him to grab onto the wheelchair, I would hold it steady while he pulled himself up, but he was incapable.  He was very drunk.  He can't even get his feet underneath him.  Everything works, he just can't coordinate it working. 

I tried putting my hands under his armpits and pulling him, but that only works if the person is helping you lift.  He wasn't helping.  I gave up. 

And our ride came.  I told Ron, he started "trying" again.  I went out and told the driver Ron had fallen on the floor, and was having trouble getting up.  We might not be riding. 

She was very sympathetic.  I did not mention the drinking, although I wanted to.  It wouldn't help.  I went back in.  Ron was flopping around like an electrocution victim.  I asked him if he wanted me to send the driver away and he said yes.  So I did.  She was very nice about it. 

Some people will probably think I am a bitch, leaving that poor crippled man on the floor.  Even though he isn't combative (today!), he is deadweight and I can't pick up 160 pounds like that.  I felt a pull in my back warning me not to try.  So I won't. 

My back is fine, I want to keep it that way.  Ron will be fine on the floor, it's not the first time I've left him there.  And, maybe, this time, it will knock some sense into him, waking up mostly naked on the floor.  Remember he won't know where he is for a while until he investigates his surroundings. 

I assume he will wake me up when he finally figures things out, to ask what happened.  I will tell him.  We are only allowed 5 cancellations a month, this is 2 (ride there, ride home). 

I was angry at first but right now I am just profoundly disappointed.  Ron says he "has" to drink because alcohol is the "only" thing that helps his back.  He hasn't even tried anything else, he just goes straight to the bottle.  So how would he know?  And I refuse to believe that alcohol is "the only" thing that will "ever" help his back.  It may temporarily distract him but it's not a long term fix, and very damaging to boot. 

Years ago, before his back got so bad, Ron used to tell me he "had" to drink alcohol "because it was the only thing that helps me sleep".  I didn't believe it back then either.  Once his back started acting up it was alcohol is the only thing that fixes my back. 

I wonder what excuse he would find to drink if he was given, say, a huge bottle of something that really worked on his back and wasn't narcotic.  Maybe he would go back to the "sleep" thing. 

I'm just tired.  I plan to go to bed early.