rehab

I'm beginning to feel a little baseball withdrawal. I'm looking at the calendar longing for spring training. It doesn't help that it is snowing and is really cold outside. Some teams are releasing their spring training schedules. The Tigers haven't released their schedule yet but I have taken it upon myself to piece together their schedule by looking at other schedules. Sad, isn't it? This is what I need to get me through the day. At least the other withdrawal symptoms haven't started yet. You know, the trembling, sweats, chest pains.

One time I took a homeless guy to the emergency room because he wanted to stop drinking and was pretty sure if he stopped on his own he would die. This guy told me he had to drink a couple beers before he felt well enough to eat a meal. I asked what size beers. He said 40 oz. Oh. Anyway, during the check-in process at the hospital the woman asked him if he had any other health issues that brought him to the emergency room. I heard him say "I have a bad tooth ache." and I turned to look at him and he was standing there with his false teeth in one hand, pointing to them with his other hand and he had the biggest goofiest grin on his face I have ever seen. I started to laugh and then he started to laugh and because he was drunk off his ass, he almost fell over laughing. The woman asking the questions didn't laugh. I spent 12 hours (6 p.m to 6 a.m.) with him in the waiting room. Unfortunately he stopped laughing and by about the 3rd hour he was threatening to walk out. He swore at me and threatened me and begged me to take him home. I told him he was free to leave but I wasn't giving him a ride anywhere. He hung in there and ended up being seen by a doctor who told him he didn't need medical detox. The rehab told him he couldn't go there because he had to have medical detox. What was he supposed to do? No treatment because he needed medical detox. No medical detox was available. I asked the doctor what would have happened if the man had insurance other than Medicaid. He looked at me and said he probably would have admitted him for medical detox. After a long night of this man hating me for not taking him home, I ended up having to take him home. Where he continued to drink and ended up having to leave the shelter. Last I heard he had sobered up long enough to get a job and find housing. But now he's drinking again and is about to be homeless.

This is why I need baseball.