Mid September 2012-
Life is going about normally at this point in our journey of the story I have been telling you all. I am going to College, Mom and Dad and all other family members are doing their own thing and my Brother? Well, my brother as far as I knew was ok.

How wrong I was.

I began noticing that my brother had been looking funny. By funny, I mean he was very skinny on his upper body and his legs that I thought were always very nicely muscular were looking more and more emaciated. There was also another problem that we noticed and that was that my brothers belly had started to swell much like that when you suffer from malnutrition. He had a big belly and really skinny arms and legs. His head was starting to look disproportionate. There was definitely something wrong. But I didn’t know what. Mom and Dad started to notice it also and then there came one day in the kitchen where Mom directly asked my brother the question.. “are you eating” to which he quickly responded with a very quick “yes” and he went upstairs.

I followed him upstairs and when he sat down and I really looked at him I was horrified. He was becoming skeletal with a huge belly. I sat down on his couch and I asked him. Are you starving yourself? To which he replied “a little” and that Dr. S (family doctor) had told him that he should lose weight for his blood pressure.

I said “no, its more than a little, listen you are looking really badly malnourished and you need to get help. You look anorexic. You need to start eating again even small meals. A little protein and ruffage.. You have to eat!” I begged him please let me help you. Please, I can do it and we can get you better. He said he would think about it. Four weeks passed and he decided that he wanted my help and that he also had a list of food that he wanted me to go to the shops and get him. I agreed and I went. I told him that I wanted him to start writing a food diary of what he ate so that he was getting enough calories so that his body would start to reverse itself from starvation mode, which, he clearly was in.
From about October 8th until October 18th… life seemed to be getting a little better for my brother. He was eating the meals that I was preparing and it seemed like his stomach was going down.
Then I noticed that he was coming home each day very early and was acting weird, even MORE weird than normal. I noticed he was walking funny and he said his feet were swollen and that freaked me out and I suggested we go and see the doctor and the answer to that was a NO. I also noticed his legs were leaking and by all accounts my brother was looking yellow.

I went to Google and came back with one big fat diagnosis. Cirrhosis of the Liver and he was at a very bad stage…..

I had no choice.. I went to his room and I said “I know what is wrong with you. You have Cirrhosis and you need help in a big way” We have to go to the doctor.

He listened to me and looked down at the floor or his keyboard and took what I said with a grain of salt and then shooed me away.

5 days later… he would have no choice.