Sharing Recovery

I BEGAN medical practice in a small New Hampshire town. While there I tried to help a few people who were drinking too much. I particularly recall two patients who were partially paralyzed due to neuritis caused by too much alcohol and too little food. Medically, I was able to help: they recovered from the neuritis while they were on intensive treatment and unable to get alcohol. But they couldn't stop drinking once they were on their feet. Both died as active alcoholics not long after I moved away from the region.