foolsgold
Bluelighter
A woman has spoken about her gruelling battle with alcoholism that eventually led to her being on a life support machine with just a 5% chance of survival.
It took Patricia Murphy seeing a photograph of herself hooked up to hospital machines and with bright yellow skin - a side effect of her alcoholism - to make her realise that she needed to change her life, or she would end up dead.
The now sober 45-year-old from Surrey was admitted to hospital nine months ago when her liver became damaged as a result of drinking 350 units of alcohol every week for 10 years. Her condition was so bad that her organs failed, which caused her skin to turn yellow.
Patricia hopes her story - which first appeared in Closer magazine - will raise awareness in women on the dangers of alcohol.
Patricia Murphy one life support with a yellow face (© Closer Magazine)
Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning this week, Patricia said: "That picture was the turning point. Seeing how yellow I was. I went through a lot, I couldn't even walk when I came off intensive care."
She also spoke about how her bad habits began at the age of 17, and said that by the age of 28, she had stopped going out because she couldn't get drunk enough.
"It's not normal to drink like that. It's a slippery road. I was born with the addiction. I was always going to be an alcoholic", Patricia said.
NHS advice: alcohol and your wellbeing
Things eventually spiralled out of control when her parents died and Patricia began to drink five bottles of wine a day to numb the pain.
"I have been in to rehab three times", she revealed. "But each time I came out I would go and buy wine and drink.
"I didn't want to stop it, I wanted to get drunk. I liked the way it made me feel."
After losing her job due to her addiction, Patricia became steadily more depressed but her visits to rehab were not effective in making her want to change things. It was only when the 45-year-old was admitted to hospital with severe liver damage that nearly killed her, and she saw a photograph of her yellow face, that she realised life had to change.
Despite immediately buying a bottle of wine upon her release from hospital, Patricia was so disgusted with herself that she could not drink it, and has remained sober ever since.
While Patricia is sober now, alcoholics face a life-long battle against their addiction, and her body has been under such severe strain that it will most probably affect her life expectancy.
It took Patricia Murphy seeing a photograph of herself hooked up to hospital machines and with bright yellow skin - a side effect of her alcoholism - to make her realise that she needed to change her life, or she would end up dead.
The now sober 45-year-old from Surrey was admitted to hospital nine months ago when her liver became damaged as a result of drinking 350 units of alcohol every week for 10 years. Her condition was so bad that her organs failed, which caused her skin to turn yellow.
Patricia hopes her story - which first appeared in Closer magazine - will raise awareness in women on the dangers of alcohol.
Patricia Murphy one life support with a yellow face (© Closer Magazine)
Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning this week, Patricia said: "That picture was the turning point. Seeing how yellow I was. I went through a lot, I couldn't even walk when I came off intensive care."
She also spoke about how her bad habits began at the age of 17, and said that by the age of 28, she had stopped going out because she couldn't get drunk enough.
"It's not normal to drink like that. It's a slippery road. I was born with the addiction. I was always going to be an alcoholic", Patricia said.
NHS advice: alcohol and your wellbeing
Things eventually spiralled out of control when her parents died and Patricia began to drink five bottles of wine a day to numb the pain.
"I have been in to rehab three times", she revealed. "But each time I came out I would go and buy wine and drink.
"I didn't want to stop it, I wanted to get drunk. I liked the way it made me feel."
After losing her job due to her addiction, Patricia became steadily more depressed but her visits to rehab were not effective in making her want to change things. It was only when the 45-year-old was admitted to hospital with severe liver damage that nearly killed her, and she saw a photograph of her yellow face, that she realised life had to change.
Despite immediately buying a bottle of wine upon her release from hospital, Patricia was so disgusted with herself that she could not drink it, and has remained sober ever since.
While Patricia is sober now, alcoholics face a life-long battle against their addiction, and her body has been under such severe strain that it will most probably affect her life expectancy.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
