Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories - Diagnosed With Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis at 38 | A Sobriety Story That Will Wake You Up

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

From Casual Drinking to Liver Failure: Jacob’s Story of Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Sobriety, and Second Chances In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Jacob shares his powerful journey from a normal upbringing and moderate drinking to developing alcoholic liver cirrhosis after a slow, 10-year descent into alcohol dependency. Growing up in Wisconsin with a loving family, sports, and strong values, Jacob never saw alcohol as dangerous. Drinking started socially and casually — a beer here, wine at dinner, fun with friends. But as stress increased through marriage, business responsibilities, and parenting, alcohol quietly shifted from celebration to coping. In 2023, Jacob was hospitalized with severe abdominal swelling (ascites), jaundice, and ultimately diagnosed with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Doctors gave him a grim prognosis and discussed palliative care. But this is not a tragedy story. It's about what Jacob is doing with his second chance.  ----------- Support the Show: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivation Join the Sober Motivation Community: https://sobermotivation.mn.co/ Jacob in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feel_sober_good/

Welcome back to season five of the Sobermotivation podcast. Join me, Brad, each week as my guest and I share incredible and powerful sobriety stories. We're here to show sobriety as possible. One story at a time. Let's go. On today's episode, we have Jacob, who didn't grow up in chaos. He had a loving family and a good upbringing and no obvious reason to drink. But over a slow 10-year stretch, alcohol quietly, went from casual to coping, from celebration,

to self-medication until one day he was sitting at a hospital being told he might only have months to live, liver cirrhosis at a young age and three daughters at home. This is a story about denial, shame, near death, functional medicine, faith, and what happens when you get a second chance at life? If you think it can never happen to you, listen closely. And this is Jacob's story on the sober motivation podcast. How's it going, everyone, and welcome back to another episode. So thank you so much for all of your support over the years with the podcast. If the podcast has helped you out in any way get started on your sober journey or keep things going, your support would mean the world.

And you can head over to buy me a coffee.com slash sober motivation. Support the show there. Help cover some of the subscriptions and everything that goes into a one-man podcasting show. Thank you so much. And if you're not in a spot to do that, I completely understand. And drop a review wherever you listen, subscribe to the podcast, download some episodes, and share it with a friend. If you're looking for some extra support, don't forget to check us out in the sober motivation community where we have 15 meetings every week. And I'm telling you, an incredible, loving community of people that will help you and meet you exactly where you're at.

So come and check us out. I'll drop the link for that down on the show notes as well. Now let's get to Jacob's episode. Welcome back to another episode of the sober motivation podcast. Today we've got Jacob with us. Jacob, how are you? I'm doing really good, Brad. Thanks for having me on today. Of course, man. I've seen you out there on a few other shows and sharing your story. So it's good to connect with you and I'm very grateful that you're willing to share your story here with all of us. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad to

if it can help someone. That's really my primary intention here is just to recover out loud, share, you know, kind of quiet stigma, shame and allow people, you know, that it's okay to, We all struggle and we can get through this and try to give hope to other people, too. Yeah, I love that, man. So what was it like for you growing up? Growing up for me was I had a good family life, good upbringing. I'm very fortunate, grateful for that. And a loving family.

I had a brother and two sisters. And alcohol, it growing up was around, but it was never really perceived as a negative thing. you know, it was, you know, moderate, you know, moderated. It was, you know, there's beer and wine, maybe with a meal at the end of the day, stuff like that. Yeah. And I was fortunate to have a really good background, really good parents, loving parents, loving family. And so growing up, I didn't, it wasn't, I didn't have a lot of reasons to turn to alcohol or drugs or anything like that. Yeah.

Thanks for sharing that, too. Any early childhood memories that, you know, really stand out to? like you were you're a sports guy how did school go and everything for you did you have an easy time making friends and connecting with people and all that yeah i i think i think so um i can remember from a young age i was actually thinking about this today you know just as you growing up and like you you you're just thinking about i'm writing stuff down of like who i wanted to be and and uh you know you want to be liked as a kid and you want to be accepted and but But I had some good role models and good upbringing in that I, you know, we, you know, believed in kindness and accepting, you know, people.

And so having friends was wasn't super difficult all the time, you know, but I just, I always was a little insecure. I believe, you know. But yeah, I guess I was always really big into football and sports, Packers from a young age. And so I was a big Brett Farr fan growing up. And so his story, too, you know, I remember reading his book about what he suffered with, you know, when I couldn't relate to it at all. But now I have a different appreciation for what his story was. But yeah, that was kind of, you know, I'd love to play football. I'd love to play video games.

And when I was real little, you know, the Ninja Turtles and all that stuff, you know, I'm grateful to have a good upbringing and a lot of good memories, you know. Yeah, awesome. What about for anybody who hasn't lived in Wisconsin and growing up there, what was kind of that experience? And I'm also thinking of, you know, your siblings too, four. There's four of you pretty busy for things. I mean, what was that experience like? I was the youngest. My brother was kind of getting, he was kind of at that age where he was starting to move out when I was pretty young.

And so it was kind of just me and my two sisters and eventually just my one sister. But yeah, my oldest sister, Maria, she always, you know, was kind of like, I guess, babied me a little bit or, you know, kind of looked after me, kind of in a motherly way. And it still does to this day. My other sister, Amber, we would, you know, have those sibling little fights or whatever. But she has a great heart. And she always encouraging me to do his right. And we had a lot of good memories.

And I always called her my little sister because he was smaller. And my older brother, too, was great. He roughed me around with his buddies, you know, like a big brother should. So I don't know. I have a lot of really fond memories of growing up. And I'm thankful for that. And then Wisconsin, too. It's been good to you.

Wisconsin's been good to me. You know, I like the seasons. Yeah, good, man. Good stuff. Happy to hear that. When does drinking enter the picture? I mean, is it high school or after that? Probably about high school. You know, I mean, I may have had some sips or, you know, as I got older. You know, if I was responsible, you know, if I earned my parents' trust, then I could, you know, they maybe let me have a little bit.

But, you know, it was nothing crazy. You know, I started to maybe start sneaking in a beer or something like that, you know, as I got a little older. But it wasn't like, I'm like, I got to have 12 of them. You know, it's just like I thought it was fun to sneak a beer, beer or something, camping. And then it was, it seemed like it really kind of became an issue when I moved out and, you know, kind of get with the wrong crowds maybe a little bit. Part of it was too, just my own wanting to experiment a little bit and see, see what it was like. I didn't really realize what, you know, if you have too much to drink, how, you know, if you have too much to drink, how that you get sick and stuff like that.

And it seems like fun at the time. And so sometimes it was just kind of like, well, that was fun. It was stupid. But, you know, we're young. And you don't think about things like you do now, you know. Yeah, well, yeah. And part of it is that experimenting thing. Maybe some people talk about to a rite of passage kind of as you get older.

Maybe that's what they've seen or picked up on. It's like we're doing things maybe that, you know, we shouldn't be doing or, you know, stuff like that. right curious curious kids curious teenagers young adults you know and i think they're the reality is there's a lot of people who experiment in that age and maybe necessarily it doesn't become problematic for their life and you know so it's kind of like figuring it out i don't think anybody knows like i don't think anybody's like well these people are going to struggle with this further down the road so we better you know keep a close eye on it too what's that whole experience with you moving out i mean

And was that like to start working or like college or what was that like? Yeah, I was doing a little bit of college. I think I just wanted to kind of get some independence. You know, I wanted to venture out. Yeah. And see things for myself a little bit. So I moved to the other side of the state. And it was a great experience.

I learned a lot. You know, I went through some, you know, times where, you know, things were tough, you know, as you get out there and, you know, you. know, paying bills and on your own again. Now you got, it's like, why did I move out? When I had free rent and free food, but, but you, you got to figure all that stuff out. And I remember it got to a point where it was, it was kind of, it was kind of rough. And I was talking to my dad one night and I was just really having a rough time.

And, and he said, you know, just come home. He said, if you want to, you need to come home, come home, you know, because we have the family business. You know, you said you can come, you got a job, you know, all this. And I said, you know, I got to do this myself. I appreciate that a lot, but I got to figure this out myself. And so that's kind of, fortunately, it's been something that, you know, is probably, I learned that probably from my parents and from good role models. But that's, that was a mindset I had as a young person that, you know, I've got to figure this out myself.

I can't. I'm not just going to throw in the towel here. I'm going to keep working and get it right. And then maybe I'll come home. And that's what I eventually did. Yeah. When you say we're having a rough time, like what was that experience? I think, you know, I was having some trouble with work at the time and just not seeing eye to eye with my boss at the time.

And, you know, it was hard to make ends meet. And then, you know, you'd go through breakups. and different things like that. And then there was a lot, you know, there's a lot of partying and drinking and poor choices, you know, that also played a factor into it. And so I made my fair share then. And so there was just all that kind of coming on. And I hadn't really experienced that a whole lot because I grew up pretty sheltered in the sense of that.

I had a pretty loving, grateful, positive, I mean, I don't know how, you know, how to really phrase it. But it was, I didn't experience those things very much growing up. So this was a first time for me to kind of, kind of, you know, feel some of those things and deal with some of those, you know, adult things, you know. And yeah. But the things did turn around for me. Like eventually at that point, when I, after I had that conversation with my dad, things did start to turn around for me. Yeah. But you didn't, you didn't move back home at that time.

No, I hadn't moved back. I got, I got a new job and with, with that I really enjoyed. and then I met my wife and we got married there and it was so things were starting to look up you know and alcohol I enjoyed it and we would you know we could go out for you know at this point when we got married it was 21 so that was we were just I had just been you know now finally of age but yeah but it wasn't so we'd go out for dinner and it was kind of cool to you know you felt like oh now I'm adult I can order it. drink, you know, this is, this is kind of new experience, you know, and yeah. And so it wasn't,

it wasn't at that point any, I don't think there was any real red flags, really, other than, you know, there would be times I'd have some wine or something like that. And I just remember saying, man, I kind of like this feeling. Like, this is like we're talking. I felt like I could relax. I felt like my, you know, I felt like people were having fun and, and you were feeling accepted. And And it just, so there was those positive things that you saw on it, and which, which didn't turn you away from it. Yeah. But at this time, like 21 and married, sounds like love at first sight, maybe. You know, and, but you're not really finding yourself, like, really craving or, you know, really going too far off of maybe the path of other people around you, kind of keeping it to weekends and stuff like that, you know?

Yep. Very, very, very relatable story for a lot of people. I think there's sort of, I think it's getting better, but I think there is this misconception or this myth out there that, you know, from the beginning, it's this big problem and everything's slowing apart. And although there are a lot of people that share that story, I think there's a lot of people who share this progressive kind of slowly keeping alcohol around, exploring it a little bit more. And you said it a few times, I think, so far too, is you're not really hearing, hearing or seeing much of the negatives, right? Some people that grow up with like people, parents that are

struggling so they can see it firsthand, right, about the dynamics there and the chaos that it creates. But you haven't had any sort of indicators that say, okay, you know, drinking is not necessarily a, you know, good thing or going to benefit me in my life. Right. Right. And that's, and I, you, you hit the nail in the head because that's, uh, um, really what I'm, What I'm trying to articulate, I guess, in the story is that this is an average story that could be relatable to a lot of people that maybe don't think they have a problem or, you know, as it progresses, we'll see that it became a problem. But it can be slow. It can be a very slow progression. Yeah.

So where do we go from here? I mean, at 21, you're married. Alcohol is playing a small role in your life. You've got this other job. Yeah. What's next for us? Yeah, so then I eventually moved home. And before this, my wife and I, maybe we have times with friends where, you know, you're in a safe place and you have a few extra drinks and you have a little fun, you know, do some karaoke, whatever it is, you know, dance or whatever.

Just have a good time. You know, it wasn't like it was every night or something like that. But eventually I moved home and I think when I was trying to pinpoint when it was, it was probably, and when I got back to the family business, I started taking on more responsibilities. And so you started to have a little bit more stress because it was, you know, the new roles carried things that other, somebody else had to deal with before. Now it's like, have I a problem.

I got to deal with this. And so, you know, navigating that and trying to like, you know, these are all new things. And then you find like, well, you know, I always felt better when I had a drink. So I should have a drink. And, oh, yeah, that helped. You know, I can get through, you know. And so you can start to kind of use it for that. It's like, oh, that was kind of, that helped.

So now I know if I have a stressful day, this is what I can turn to it. It helps, you know. And so you got that. And then, like, in 2013, you know, we had our first daughter. and those were those are stresses but those are good stresses you know i i absolutely um that's one of my you know most grateful for is that are most proud is that being a dad you know a dad to three daughters and so but parent life has more challenges and stresses and so what i had done before is i'm looking to what did i turn to before when when things are kind of

stressful, maybe I'll have a drink at the end of the day. You know, all that, that helps. Okay. I'm feeling good. And that's kind of how it starts to, you start to turn to it for the wrong reasons. Before it was kind of like a celebration. It was kind of a fun. It was kind of like dinner. And now you're starting to use it for things that are to manage stress or to, you're feeling a little anxious and worried about the future, worried about your kids. And this helps me kind of forget that for a little bit, you know, and that's when it can start to turn dangerous. And so, you know, I'm kind of pinpointing 2013 because that was kind of that slow 10-year descent into where my use turned from, you know, just moderate, you know, moderate, you know, casual

use, fun use to now I'm using it to kind of self-medicate and now I'm starting to become a little bit more dependent on it and not really seeing the dangers. I'm ignoring the danger. I'm ignoring the dangerous because I just never saw the dangers growing up or didn't, didn't see some of the things how it breaks up families and how it, how it, you know, controls people or it kills people. You know, I didn't see, see that firsthand. And so I, I didn't, I just continued on this path, this path that led me to getting really sick. Yeah. Well, thanks for sharing that too. And I mean, I think that that's like kind of one of the initial red flags, I think, before we ever even realize that there's red flags is when we start leaning on alcohol, we stop leaning on other

things that might be healthier, right? We stop leaning on, you know, going for a walk or communication or, I don't know, now it's like yoga and meditation and things that are going to be helpful. So I feel like that there's a good identifier for you as like that slow descent of when these things are coming up in life and we're just sort of dealing with it in a very isolated way that really doesn't, I think now we look back and we could say it really doesn't resolve any of the stress or any of the other things, right? It's just sort of a temporary band-aid for everything that we're going through. How do things look like for you in this sort of, I think you mentioned there,

like a 10-year stretch? When do you realize it? Does anybody mention anything to you early on? on with this or no? It was starting to, at that point I was starting down, probably for the next five years, I started being able to use it in some way, perceive it in a positive way. You know, like I was thinking, well, people seem to like me when I'm more loose and fun, you know, or just like, you know, and I'm thinking to myself that I see that positive. I see that it's taking away the stress. I feel it just making me feel powerful.

Well, sometimes I, sometimes I would, you know, bring work home and having some drinks. And I felt like I was, I had all these ideas popping into my head that were great ideas. Or I could be more, you know, I could work on an evaluation and I could open up a little bit more better. You know, I thought it was making me better in some ways. But then it started to, because I even sometimes would, I mean, I wasn't even as, I wasn't hiding it. I would just, you know, I'm going to go home and work on this and I'm going to have a drink. and and that it's going to be fine, you know. But it doesn't stop.

They don't want it starts to not stop at one. And then it goes to two. And, and so it was kind of as we went into that, the first five years was kind of that really slow. And then it started to speed up a little bit. And so probably the after five, probably six in years six and seven. Now it's like my wife starting to question like, because I keep the drinks down in the basement.

Yeah. If actually in that cabinet right behind me now. But I would come down and get a drink. And so she kind of knew when I was heading down there. And so she might say, do you really need another drink? You know, what like? And yeah, I'm home and what's a big deal, you know? And you start getting a little defensive because it starts, you're starting to feel like, man, I really need that drink.

And so it caused a little bit of friction. And so the way that I started to navigate that was to sneak it, to hide it. That was the way I could still get my drinks without upsetting anyone. And so now I'm starting to hide it, and now it's starting to become an issue. And it was shortly after that, then 2020 hit. And we know what happened there. Lockdowns, you know, a scared of this pandemic that's coming that we don't know anything about at the time. You know, what we were being told was quite scary.

And now we're just home all the time. And what should we do? Well, let's have some drinks. And this helps kind of forget that the world is going crazy with, you know, this crisis. And that's really when it started to spiral now. Yeah, that's when you leaned in more. Very relatable story for people that, you know, have shared their story, too. for a lot of people that stretch of time, everything changed, the isolation, your routine,

everything working from home. It was just kind of like the door blew off, the hinges, access to alcohol and didn't have to go anywhere. There was really many places to go. Interesting too, where your wife kind of mentions too, like, do you need another drink and then you switch into that, you know, aspect of hiding it. I mean, throughout this time, do you feel like you're growing as sort of a, you know, a human too?

like sharpening your skills and making progress in that area because I feel like I hear it a lot too of well I'm going to work I'm doing you know what I can I'm doing I'm good in all of these areas and then I hear people when they reflect back they said oh man I I could have been doing a lot better like what I thought I was present for maybe I wasn't as present as I as I felt I was I mean any of that relatable yeah yeah 100% Brad because I really looking back at it now and being as sober is that I felt like that 10 years stretch that I talked about that's where I lost like 10 years of my potential and it started slowly and I thought at that time I thought I was actually building it and then it just like

started to go the opposite of what I thought it was doing for me and and I think that's why you know even when you're sharing these stories it's good to kind of maybe reflect or journal or think about what were the what was it that pinpointed this you know so now you're learning from those mistakes that you made and this may help you in the future to avoid falling back into that or or be in a position to help someone else that maybe starting to head down that same path that you were and and so yeah i i feel i feel like i lost my you know i started to to gain a lot of weight and especially in 2020 when you're home and it's like I I was a central worker so I was working and we were crazy busy in fact and so you had that stress of that and and and so I wasn't you know

I'd like to think I was still a a good father but you know seeing how I am now you're more of a present father, you know, you feel like I was, I loved my kids and I was there for him, but I was maybe in a hurry to get out of, you know, put them to bed so I could go have a drink and rushing that, you know, versus lingering in it and appreciating, listening to their stories that they want to tell you before bed instead of just saying, well, come on, go to sleep, you know, you, you take a minute for that. And so, yeah, I think I was starting to be more selfish. I was not as good of a husband. I was not a good of a friend. So there's a lot of things that were, you know, and yeah, it makes me feel bad right now. So to think about that, because I, that wasn't

me, you know, that wasn't, and that's what this does to people. That's what you, you become someone that, that you look back and you don't even recognize anymore, you know, and, and so I'm just grateful that I got out of that. But I, I was very fortunate because it got pretty dark for a while. Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing that too. I mean, I think it, you know, throughout this journey, too, it's, it's not always easy to look back. I think the main reason is because we can't go back and adjust things. And, you know, if we only knew what we know now, you know, I think of that a lot. Like, if I only knew then what I know now, but it just, it just doesn't work that way, you know, in life, right? You can only, you can only go forward. But I think that that's so important, kind of what you mentioned there too, about reflecting on how, things were, right? Because there's a lot of people that start this journey. Maybe it's one year, maybe it's 90 days, maybe it's five years and can convince themselves that they can drink again, that they're good to go. And like they can. I mean, anybody can go to the store, at least where I'm at and you can buy alcohol. Nobody would tell me any different. Nobody would stop me. And they wouldn't

say, oh, no, you're the sober motivation guy. We can't do, nobody would do that. So I mean, it's always on the table. But I think that remembering what things were like, because you know, humans, it's interesting, right? We can kind of forget our brain is designed to protect us. So we can forget what things were really like. And maybe just at times reminisce on the earlier days or the times when things didn't go, you know, a little bit bananas. So it's always good to kind of reflect back on kind of what alcohol might be quietly taking from us.

Or maybe some people say what we've kind of given away. And it's interesting. with your story, you're plugging in on a regular basis, the tolerance builds, you know, and without even really realizing it. So what one drink used to do, now you need two. And now, if two used to do, now you need three or four, five, or six. And it just kind of goes up. And another thing you mentioned there, too, I mean, I shared it in the last couple episodes,

but Huberman had this thing that 8% of people are born with this gene. I don't know. That's all I know about. I don't know all the science behind it and everything. but it's interesting you kind of shared that you were able to plug in to work a little bit more which i think if you think about that if i look at sort of normies in my life when they drink they kind of get tired like i don't see them working i don't see them cleaning the house i don't see them working tinkering in the garage but people that i when i hear that from i'm like you know that

that is kind of like another thing that could be like an initial red flag are we staying up later You know, like, I think when we get sober, we're kind of in bed a lot earlier. When we're drinking, when I was drinking, I'd stay up to one, two, three in the morning, just mindlessly just drinking away. And now, like, you know, being sober, I don't really do that. But yeah, I mean, it's tough to kind of reflect back. Any thoughts there? Yeah, I never really, you know, put that together.

But you make a really good point, you know, about because I kind of thought, well, you know, wondered about that, you know, that you're kind of, to have this in you that you're going to be more addictive or addictive personality or whatever it is. But that's interesting that you said, like, yeah, because I never really got tired so much. It was more, it was more energized or I felt more, you know, I would, I do the same thing. I'd stay up late. And, and, yeah, so, yeah, I definitely see your point.

And I do see your point, too, and that about reflecting back because it is important that we reflect back because in a lot of ways, you know, God created us in a way that is actually beautiful in the fact that we can forget some of our past mistakes and stuff like that. If things are starting to go good or like, let's say we were really sick and we start to get healthy, you know, I kind of forget that I was even sick because I'm feeling so great now. And it's good. You know, you don't want to just live in the past, but you don't want to forget that because it could be easy, like you said, to just like fall back into that and kind of forget that how bad it really was. And so, and when you know how dark it can get, you know, you appreciate things differently now. And so you don't want to forget that. You don't want to live in the past. You got to move forward.

but you don't want to you don't want you do need to kind of think of remind yourself even if it's hard you know to where it was at and maybe it's those times where you feel tempted you know like maybe that's the time to like go back in your mind and think about that yeah i think yeah and being honest with ourselves but that's a good point too i mean you don't want to you don't want to live in the past it's it's kind of finding that balance about you know what things were really like and then you know move on, right? But also maybe to reflect back and identify our progress, you know, to say, hey, like, this is kind of how I was feeling. This was my outlook on life. This is how I dealt with things that were difficult. And now look at how I'm dealing with things that are still

difficult because the, you know, maybe the beautiful thing or maybe the not, I don't know how to put it. But the thing with life is it keeps going, right? Life keeps hitting. Whether you drink or you don't drink. Life continues to go on. There's difficult moments. There's things that don't make a whole heck of a lot of sense. But relying on sort of the strength of where we've come from, you know, I think can be beneficial to, you know, explore the resilience that we have and sort of the gratitude maybe that this whole thing provides us because we felt so low at one point. How do things look like for you?

You kind of gave us the six, seven year. I mean, how does the eight, nine, and ten kind of play out? So, yeah, so we get down to the, I kind of fast forward here due to time and stuff. But, you know, in 2023, in 2022 I was starting to have some symptoms and stuff like that. And 2023 is when, you know, I was, I would get, like symptoms I would get, I'd get rosacea. I'd get real red in the face when I drink. I was, you know, I'd have some tingly feeling in my legs and some stiffness. and I was trying to figure all that out.

I wasn't feeling good. I was feeling sick a lot like I would have to go home. And I don't typically miss work. I like to, you know, I have to be pretty sick to miss work. And I was starting to miss, I was starting to have to stay home or leave early. And I wasn't feeling good. And then, you know, you go home and then instead of fixing that, you know, I was drinking more when I get home and I wasn't feeling good.

Well, that would lead to more of that. And it got to a point where it was in March and something just wasn't right. My stomach was really swollen and it was really hard. You know, I was thinking, what is this? And I'm thinking, well, I must just be like loaded or something. I don't know. I've never felt anything like this before. but didn't feel right.

And as I mentioned, I worked with my dad, and so I asked him to, you know, like, hey, this something seems weird. You know, what do you think? And he kind of, he's like, I think you need to go see it, you know, go to the clinic and see the on-call doctors quickly as possible. You know, I think you should get this checked out because, you know, he knew I wasn't, hadn't been. And he was, you know, he, him and I have talked before, you know, and he was kind of suspect something wasn't right, but he didn't realize that it was, my drinking was that, was that bad, you know, because I hadn't been honest about it. I had been hiding it a lot. And so I get to the hospital and I meet with the on-call doctor. and I remember they put me on the scale and I was like, oh man, I put on some weight like overnight.

Like I just feel like I was just the other day I was 10 pounds lighter, you know. Well, I hear all these fluids had been building up in my abdomen, ascites. And so I get in to the, with the doctor. And I, as he's kind of examining me, I can just see the look in his eye. I'll never forget that because it was like, he just had this concerned look on his face. And, you know, I'm a small community. You know, a lot of people know me.

And, you know, just from being in the community and stuff like that. And so I know a lot of these doctors. I know a lot of these nurses. I guess my point is what I'm trying to say. Not that I'm anything special, but it's just that they know me, and I know a lot of them. And I could see the concern look that he had and it was sincere. And he starts asking me questions about

you know how much how much you drink you're drinking alcohol like how often are you drinking alcohol and and the the questions as he continues on with these questions I'm realizing this has to do with my drinking and and no it might seem hard to believe to the listeners some of the listeners but I was I was just caught off guard by this okay I thought it was invincible you know I didn't think that I didn't think about the consequences. I hung on to stories like, you know, a little bit of wine is good for you, you know, or something like that. And it's good for your heart. And I would, I'd hang on to those stories, like a little alcohol uses. I'd look for the positive articles. I wasn't looking for like, what's bad about it. And so he's like, we need to get you to the ER as soon as possible.

And yeah, so it got real, real fast. And, you know, you go through things like, you know, they had to do like a perientesis to get the fluids out of my, the CITES out. They did do that regularly. And I had to get transferred to a different hospital to do all this. And they wanted to take me by ambulance, which I'm like, I didn't realize how serious was. And then they start, you know, I'm there as I'm sitting in this room, this is how fast things can change. Because I didn't realize at this point, I didn't think that I had this major issue. Like two days before this, I had went to like a dinner function for the community chamber, you know, that I was, I was there having dinner and everything.

I wasn't feeling the greatest, but I was there. And like a couple days later, now in many, you are, I got these nurses and doctors looking at me. And they're like, yeah, I can see. There's some of his eyes are, there's some jaundice in his eyes. And they're showing all this fluid. and this is from, you know, drinking and they're asked constantly. Every doctor is asking me about my drinking. Yeah.

And it was like, oh, my goodness, what have I done to myself? Like, it was scary. You didn't know what was going to happen. You get transported to a different hospital. And they got the fluids off and you suddenly, you feel okay. Like I'm like, oh, I feel a lot better now. And then two days later, there's right back fluids. foods again. And now I'm turning, my skin's getting yellow. I'm losing all kinds of weight.

I mean, a lot of pain. This is not a glorious way to do, to go, you know, and I'm thinking like, I'm dying here. And this is humiliating. And at that point, it was just maybe selfishly thinking about, you know, what I had done and just that how humiliate I was. And I was hoping no one would find out that I was because of drinking at that point because I'm trying to tell, no, don't tell anybody that it's because my drinking, you know, my liver's failing. And so they did, you know, the biopsies and confirmed that it was liver cirrhosis. And they called it, you know, alcoholics liver cirrhosis.

And remember when I got the diagnosis, I'm like, oh, that sounds terrible. Like this, you know, just in my mind worried about what other people think, not willing to admit that this is what I was or this is what I had become. And so I remember asking the doctor. I said, well, that's really not a, I don't really like that. The diagnosis does it have to be called that? It sounds like still even a little bit of denial maybe of this was your. current sort of situation.

It was. Yep. Yep, you got that right because, you know, they would, I swear every doctor, nurse, anybody, they were all asking me. And I don't know. I think some of them were asking me because they needed to, you know, probably maybe compare stories, see if I was willing, how the story was, was I being honest or not. And I think some of it, too, some of these nurses and doctors, I think they're kind of

curious, you know, sometimes people ask you how much were you drinking because they want to kind of compare their drinking with your drinking and how I got to this point. But I remember the one doctor, the one doctor asked me like, or nurse or whoever was, and I, how much have you been drinking? I said, well, I would have, you know, I have a couple every night. And oh, and then he goes, so like four, you know, and I was, well, I made a couple's like two, you know, but. Yeah. You know, it depends how strong you make those. And I'm not being, you're not being honest just because of a lot of shame, you know, and embarrassment about it. Yeah, yeah.

And up into that point, like you, had you come across anybody that was sober, anybody that, you know, you had kind of seen sort of, you know, turn their life around maybe in that sense? At that point, no, I hadn't. I mean, I, I mean, I, I shouldn't say, like, I wasn't thinking about that. I wasn't thinking about sober. I was, I was thinking, I was, In fact, I was actually thinking about, I wonder if I could maybe get healthy enough to have a drink in moderation again.

Did you ask them? I did. Did you ask anybody? Yeah. No, they're like, no, you should never drink again. And I'm like, well, like that sounds like. Yeah, that sounds like a life sentence. Like, this is going to be awful, you know.

And that's how it affects your mind at that time because this is at a point where I'm, you know, had become very dependent on it. And so I couldn't imagine life without it. And I couldn't like, I'm going to be not, you know, no one's one I want to hang out with me because I can't drink anymore. You know, no, you know, I'm not going to be like this is, this is not a good situation. And I'm like, you're literally dying right now. Or like you have, you might not live, make it through this. And you're worried about whether or not you might build, like your, your priorities are wrong here, you know.

But, but you're not yourself. You're not. your brain is still just not wired right it's it's gotten dependent and so this this is normal to feel that way and not and so i i say i share all this so that if you feel this way or you hear a loved one that feels that way like that's normal feelings like that don't you know it's not that they don't you know they're not thinking right and if they can get through this it can change yeah like just because somebody feels that way in the moment doesn't mean it is that that's never going to leave them like you can change course too i mean at this point in your life you

you have your three daughters right i do yeah yeah and your wife and i mean that must be going through your mind too right about you know how did i kind of end up here you know what was i thinking you know all of that stuff probably going through and what was your wife's um reaction to this. I mean, was this a surprise to her? It was a surprise that I was the sick, but I will say she stepped up like, you know, that she was the strength during that time, you know. Yeah.

So she, she was, she stayed hopeful, you know, I, I started to doom and gloom thinking about my funeral and planning it and because this is, this is what, being kind of being told, you know, I'm going to need a liver transplant. If I can't have a liver transplant, then this is kind of the outcome. There's not much they can do. It's not going to heal on its own. And I'm going to, and she says, no, you're going to get better. You're going to get better. Wow. So, and she, yeah, go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks for sharing that too, man. You know, I think here when you when you kind of get some distance from probably that day, that week and that news, there's a lot of healing that's taken place. But I can only imagine, too, you know, in the moment of sort of the fear and you don't know where all this is going to go.

And like, is this kind of this the it? Is this it? Like, did I, did I push it too far? And people do always ask, anytime there is a, you know, you know Will, right? anytime Will with his experience and my other buddy Jersey Mike on Instagram. Anytime that there's a post that talks about this, the most common question is always how much were you drinking? What were you drinking? And I think what you mentioned is right. I mean, you're saying other people are asking you and you're wondering if sort of they're measuring up

with like, hey, am I going to have this same result because of how much I was drinking? I mean, what was your routine like? And I know overdoing these episodes and talking with people that that is not necessarily the indicator because I, you know, if you're drinking five drinks a night that, you know, at 38 years old, you're going to have this problem. There's no like exact science to this equals that. Everybody's built a little bit differently. But what was the routine like for you?

Yeah, that's been that's been often asked, you know. and I struggle with the answer to give you 100% accuracy because I tried, I think because I was in such denial that if I didn't count, then it doesn't really, like, I'm not going to keep track of how many I'm having. You know, I'm just going to, you know, and plus how do you gauge a drink? You know, how strong do you make them? You know, my drinks were starting to get pretty strong. And so what number could you even put you put at it?

my tolerance had gotten quite a bit. I was to the point, I guess, to the point where I was, you know, the bigger bottles, I was, I was at the point where I was deciding, okay, I went to that liquor store the other day. I'm going to go to the grocery store here. I'm going to do like a Walmart order this time so that they don't suspect my drinking here. And to the point where maybe I'm even sneaking in these bottles so my wife doesn't see.

And I'm always getting the same kind so then I can swap those bottles out. and nobody suspects it because it doesn't look like anything out of place. It's not like this, what are all these different bottles? It's always the same. I had a, like you think of all these different, like how, one of the things of society that I've learned is that you don't have to stress about that anymore because I would be stressed about like, oh, man, I'm getting low on alcohol. Now I've got to figure out, where am I going to go get it?

How am I going to sneak it in? How do I, I got to hide this other bottle. And that was a lot of anxiety. It's in a sense because you're not, you're trying to just kind of hide it under the rug. But I mean, I would, it would get where I would maybe go down and sneak a shot or two ahead of making myself a drink that maybe was probably rather strong. And then I could maybe make it look like I was having just a couple of drinks that night. But yet I might have a flask hidden over here. I've got, you know, this over here.

and that's where it can get to because it's like where can I if I need this becomes dependent on you become dependent on it so it's like I need this how do I get it and I just need a little bit just to kind of keep I don't even know why like sometimes you got to a point where it's like I don't even know why why am I even drinking I don't even enjoying this anymore yeah it's so I so I don't know if that really answers your question but it was it was more than a lot more than I should have or even anyone probably suspected. Yeah. And maybe even for yourself too, right?

Because you're just free pouring stuff, a little bit here, a little bit there. You kind of lose sense of sort of reality maybe of what, you know, how much are you even drinking? Maybe sometimes you'd go and be like, wow, you know, I may be surprised a little bit. And that was the, that was more than I thought or I'm already out again and I got to, you know, go again. Man, all of that stuff, you kind of mentioned there too. Yeah, it's a full-time job, man.

You know, it's a full-time job of trying to, in the shame, it sounds like for you anyway, I could be off here, but it sounds like the shame really ran deep with you, man, when you're starting those other behaviors of like a different story. And I don't want them to pick up on it. So I'm going to mix it all up and hide it all. Now it's kind of like, am I morally broken or am I kind of going against everything that I know and that I believe?

You know, I don't take you, Jacob, as a dishonest person. And now you're doing all of these things that are going against your character and probably everything from what I'm gathering that you grew up with, right? And then the drinking kind of pushes us into this isolation, right? And a lot of people share maybe what once started out is sort of this thing to go out and tear it up on the town and connect with other people and meet people has become this thing that we do at home in secret. And we just really hope that nobody else finds out because of how heavy it is of that shame. But I think, too, and I was talking before, I think too, you know,

one of your big motivations for sharing your story is to let people know that for one, I mean, obviously, they're not alone and that it doesn't have to be that way, that you can turn the corner here and make some changes. I mean, when does that happen for you? When does the idea of not drinking in your hospital stay because it sounds like in the beginning-ish stages of it you're like how can i figure this out and i think you would probably agree looking back like that's pretty madness but it's reality you know yeah yeah it is it is madness um when you look back at it but yeah it started to it started to uh i guess i had gotten to where they basically were having me meet with palliative care to make sure I was going to be comfortable.

You know, I'm going home. Yeah. Wait. No, I'm just curious there. So it got, it was to that point to where they were like, we don't know if you're going to survive. Are they mentioning like a time frame for you or? Well, they were using a meld score calculator, which is what they a lot of times

use for liver, whether you, you know, qualify for liver, transplant and stuff. And so it was like, you know, the life expense expectancy was maybe six months. And then if I did make it longer, like they kind of like warned me that you're probably going to get real confused. And it's not going to be real pleasant towards after that. If you do, you know, make it past that because there's no healing this. There's no, there's no way to turn this around. And so I was kind of left with that.

And so we were meeting with that palliative care. And there was a doctor that was. that was not my usual doctor that came in that day. It was her day I was going to be discharged. And she was just filling in for the off doctor that had seen me the whole time. And all the doctors, you know, they're very, they're kind and loving. I have no nothing bad to say about the ones that any of them. So I mean, no disrespect to any of them.

But this particular doctor said, what's next? and my wife and I are wondering, well, we don't really know. We're kind of, we're not sure yet. We're not sure anymore. You know, liver transplant is not an option, so we're not really sure where to go. And so she says, have you ever thought about functional medicine? And well, my wife had done quite a bit of research on it. She said it, you know, when she brought that up, she said it was like an answer to her prayers

because she was, you know, she had all these questions for her. And this doctor was very, now, in that field or that subject. And she recommended these ALA infusions. And she said there was a doctor that gave him. There's a, they wrote this book on it. And there's been a lot of high success rate with people with liver cirrhosis that have seen results from getting these infusions.

And so this may be something to look into. And so she was taking down, my wife's taken down all the notes and making all the phone calls after we had met with this doctor, who also talked about diet and all this different things. And so that led us to look into functional medicine. And we, there was one particular doctor that we really wanted to get in, that she really wanted me to get into.

At this point, I have kind of felt like it was, the writing was on the wall. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty much broken, like pretty depressed that, that I was, that I had screwed it all up and wasted my life,

and I was not going to see my kids grow up. And it was hard for me to deal with that and imagine that. So my wife was the strength. She was the one looking for this, and she wanted me to see this other doctor. And she says, you know, this doctor will see you. And I said, well, what's another doctor going to do? for me.

And she says, I said, I don't want to see any more doctors. And she goes, well, you're going. And thank goodness she did. Because from the first time I met with that doctor, he gave me hope that he said, you know, I can't guarantee anything, but we're going to give it our best shot. And I feel like he rolled up his sleeves and said, let's try. Let's try to do this. And functional medicine is treating the cause, not.

the symptom. So it's looking at what is causing this. How can we fix that? And the body is amazingly made and it can heal. And if you give it the right things, if you give it the healthy diet, if you give it the right supplements. And then that led us to another functional medicine doctor with the ALA infusions. She found it. She called all over the place. We were going to travel them New Mexico for a while to do these, but we found one locally in Wisconsin. And those ALA infusions, highly recommend to look into. I'm not a doctor. I'm living proof that, hey, I'm still here. It's almost three years ago. And I feel better than ever. And I just want to give hope. That's what I want to do. And there's not enough time to really go into all the details of this. And so of that part,

but I'm willing to share more if people were to reach out. But I'll leave it. I'll stop there right now, Brad, and let you continue. Yeah. Yeah, of course, man. And yeah, thanks for sharing that too. I mean, your wife is popping up in this so many, so many times to, you know, kind of push the ball down the field, I guess, you know, which is incredible, you know, for you know, being in the hospital and kind of having that experience, you know, what else is going to change? You know, I feel like there's this strange conception. And maybe it's one only that I have or that people, some people that I've talked to. But you see in the movies and everything, right, about how you can really, you know, turn things around, you know, the medical field has expanded so much. And, you know, like this can't be my life.

Like there can't be nothing to do or there can't be the limited solutions, you know. And I think naively enough, we sometimes think no matter what damage we do, well, there's got to be something. But I've heard a lot of stories from, you know, people kind of in your situation there too where it's like, hey, we've done all we can. And that must not be sort of an easy thing to process and to work through with the idea maybe, you know, I don't know if that's one you had, but hey, there's got to be something, you know, that we could do here. Right.

Yeah. I wasn't at that point of feeling that way because I always thought you go to the, to the hospital to get your help, you go to them, you know, and they have, basically they have a certain toolbox that they use. Okay, they have certain things, surgeries and, and pharmaceuticals and different things that they can give you. But they kind of told me there's no magic pill that can fix this. Yeah.

And the function of medicine said, hey, I've got all these supplement pills. And actually these might fix this. So it gave you a hope. Okay. So I just feel like the reason I want to share this so much for people that are listening is you might be told the same thing I was told. And I felt I left those hospitals feeling hopeless. And they were great doctors, great people, nothing against them.

But they just had certain tools. But there's other tools that alternate medicine, it might be worth looking into functional medicine. So if you have some hope, like those doctors, they gave me hope, both of them. And it made me feel like, hey, maybe you can get better. And then I started to believe them. And I started doing what they told me to do. And it just led to recognizing as I got healthy, you know, the next phase was the was just how great sobriety has been, you know, after that. So when when was the day that you like got sober?

You were sober ever since you went into the hospital that day in March, it was? Yeah. Yep. Yep. March 9th was the day. but it was not like an instant thing that you will just feel like even a month into it, month into it, two months into it. I still was kind of thinking about drinking, you know, I'm starting to feel better.

I wonder if I could have a glass of wine with my wife. I wonder if someday I'll be able to have a beer and watch the Packer game again. And I can just maybe cut it off there, just one. And what, as I started to heal, because I was going through this process of like liver cirrhosis and and getting sick. And so now I'm, I got to heal, I'm healing from that. I'm starting to see results from these ALA infusions from the functional medicine doctors, homeopathic treatments, different things, diet, trying to eat healthier,

cutting out sugars, a lot of different things that I, that I did. And now I'm starting to feel better, but key number one is sobriety. You got, you got to stop drinking. And so that, I stuck with that because I had. had some serious sober motivation in that I wanted to live, you know. And so by staying sober, I gave myself the best opportunity for it to heal. And then, but it wasn't really until about six or seven months into it that it just clicked. And that was about the time I started going back to work.

And there was, there was actually this one moment in particular in the summer where we had at a gathering. And there was some people drinking and stuff like that. nothing too crazy or anything but I was I was fine on my own or talking with some other people and around the fire and and having a water sparkling water or whatever it was yeah and and that there was a situation that got a little bit out of hand right and I went to diffuse the situation and in that moment it was like it clicked for me like all of a sudden when I as I was diffusing the situation I was calm I felt in control I felt

that and it was like this aha moment like wow like I feel this this is amazing I felt so powerful and I was still very weak but I felt so powerful I was I was weak physically and I was you know still recovering mentally and but I felt strong and I started seeing it and I go to work and I things were just clicking and I could just it was like I was I had worked in a you know even when you're not just drinking your body still recovering and healing from all this drinking and your mind is foggy and and and now my mind is clear and and and and so that was that was the moment that and that's what I really started talking to to different you mentioned asked me earlier about a sober person that's when I talked to a good friend that was a was sober and they they

encouraged me to read this book this book this naked mind by any grace yeah and we she was telling me about their about their sobriety her sobriety and when I what I heard, we started sharing different experiences and it's like, man, yeah, it's really, it's really awesome. You got to read this book. This will really change it for you. And it did. When I read that book, I was like, it really opened my eyes to how dangerous alcohol is and what is doing to us.

And so from there, you know, things started to turn around for me. When I really embraced sobriety, I started healing. and I had an old personal trainer that I had worked with in the past. He said, hey, I want to help you get your strength back. He's like, come work out with, you know, we'll start small. And by doing that, he got me back going in the gym, got my strength back because I couldn't even hold my youngest daughter. And now, you know, I'm able to go regularly to the gym.

He got me on the right routine. I started healing, physically getting stronger, continue to follow the path of functional medicine and the things I learned there. And I've made a miraculous recovery. You know, I just got my blood work done here recently and my numbers were almost all normal. You know, like my liver enzymes were maybe slightly elevated,

but almost normal. And my doctor and my functional medicine doctor that I first went to, you know, he just was beyond happy about the results that we're having. And he gave me the hope or the tools that I could, you know, work towards. And then I had to work at it. And I also want to, you know, give credit to God and for giving me strength to endure and to fight through this and fight to live.

And give me people that encouraged me and supported me through this. this because that's so important. My wife, we mentioned her. It's so important if you have a friend that's struggling because this, this affects all of us. If it doesn't affect us, it affects our loved ones, people we know, friends, be there for them. If you can support them and help them through it, and they have to want it themselves. But when they are ready to do it, if you really support them, that's what that will get them over the hump. and they can be successful too.

You can be successful too. Yeah. Yeah, man. Thank you for sharing that. What do you, because, you know, when you first started all of this out, right, alcohol was sort of helping you with the stress, the overwhelm, a parenting too, right?

And I mean, all of that stuff is still part of life. What do you find yourself doing now instead of drinking to sort of deal with everything that kind of comes on a day-to-day basis? I'm glad you asked me that. Yeah. Well, you know, prayer has really helped me and reading the Bible has really helped me and focusing and, you know, giving God some of that to carry for you because it's a lot. It's a lot. And you have a lot of, you feel a lot of regret, a lot of disappointment yourself.

And, you know, God is merciful. And then, you know, going to the gym, finding healthy ways to, you know, exercising, lifting weights. Like when I'm having a stressful day, that's what I can go to. I can do some push-ups. I can, you know, say a prayer, push-ups and prayer instead of going to pour myself a drink. Yeah. Those are things that help, you know, and really just try to self-growth. Looking at my life now, you start to appreciate the moments so much more.

differently, like you're present, like you're in this, you're in this moment and we're alive. And we, we got a second chance at this. And I want to make the most of it. I want to be, I want to, I want to improve and be better and get my potential back that I lost. You know, it's not, not over. I can't go back and change it. We talked about that early. You can't go back and change what happened before, those 10 years that, that slowed

decline. But now we're climbing back up the, up the mountain. and we are, you know, trying to just make the best of it. And I share all of this. I want to give hope to other people. This isn't about me. This is about, I wouldn't be sharing all this if it weren't for the people reaching out to me and saying, my husband has got liver cirrhosis.

You know, what did you do to help? you can't get a liver transplant or like thank you for sharing it because I've been struggling with this and I need some help and to hear you talk about it is helping me to like realize recognize that I have an issue that's the reason why I keep doing this because I I didn't really enter this space to try to be a major sober influencer but I just want to share my story I want to use my second opportunity to try to like help others you know and I see What you're doing is it's so great because people have a chance to share these stories so they can be available to others. Yeah.

No, that's beautiful. And I think those are, you know, sort of the full circle moments too. And I think if I even look back in your story too, the shame was overwhelming for you, cause you to isolate what are other people going to think? And trying to hide it so much. And I think just putting it out there in the open and just say, hey, I mean, this happens. Like it's okay, but you can turn this around. It doesn't have to be this way. Like you don't have to live another day like that, get some support, put it out in the open.

But it's just convinced, I mean, I was in that stage too. I had to work through it, but a lot of people might still be there. It's just convinced us that if we share about it, then we're going to lose our job. If we share about it, people are going to think this of us. People are going to think that. But I think the risk of not sharing and not being open, we're probably going to lose the job anyway. And it could be a whole heck of a lot worse, you know. And I think that we're getting better in the world.

I think we're getting there. I don't think we're near it or as close as we need to be. That, hey, like we leaned into an addictive poison for long enough. And it changes the brain chemistry. And therefore we crave it. Like, I don't know that we need to overcomplicate it or that there's some moral failing or that we shouldn't be struggling with this because we should be stronger or we're a business owner. or we're parents. I think the sooner we put it out there,

you know, into the world and talk with people that are close to us. It doesn't have to be an Instagram post. It can just be people that are close to us and say, hey, I'm really struggling with this. We can start to find maybe a way to move forward. And it doesn't mean that you quit that day and everything turns around.

It does take time. But starting on the journey is going to get you to your goal a lot faster than not, you know, saying anything. Because you were, it sounds like it anyway, you were stuck in that 10 years of, probably didn't share this with anybody. No, no, I wasn't, I was, I was, it was all hidden. And, and the power of sharing I've found, you know,

and this, doing these podcasts has, has helped me to be more open to share. Like, it's actually trained me on how to like, let go of my shame and just, like, get it out there. And it's helped me, like, in person with people. And I want to tell, I want to say to anyone who's worried about telling people is that what I found is when you are open about your mistakes, when you admit that I screwed up or I have this weakness and I'm trying to, I'm trying to break it. I want to get out of this. Or like, or you tell them about your past problems. Like I have sometimes open up to others in the right setting.

and not to everyone, but in a right setting I might open up to somebody. And you will feel like this, like it's almost like this, all of a sudden, this piece comes through where it's like, it's a safe place. And now they feel safe to share things with you. And I've had so many more people that are like, I'm proud of you. I'm glad you came forward and shared this. I'm glad that you're doing something about it. I'm glad that you're admitting these things.

and hopefully it helps other people versus people like judging you or, you know, there might be people who do judge you and that sort of thing. But you know what? Those aren't the people that you want to, you know, be around. You want to, there's plenty of people that are supportive. And that's what I found in the sober community, you know, like yourself Brad or, you know, Jersey Mike or Will, all those guys that we support each other. And we try to encourage the other and we root for each other.

And that's, that's it. And it doesn't have to be on social media, like you said. It could be just find some friends or maybe it's in an AA meeting. You know, I didn't go to AA so I can't speak to that. But maybe you find some friends in that, but you can talk to and stuff. Yeah. And I think you have to put yourself out there, be vulnerable to be able to create those connections with other people so that you can support each other. I mean, this whole thing wants us just quiet alone and it'll just keep going.

So putting it out there, shedding some light on it, at your own pace, talking with other people, being vulnerable, building connections that are real. You know, I always thought alcohol was helping me connect. I mean, like in such a superficial level, there wasn't any depth to it. There was nothing. But in this side of things, being vulnerable and sharing that, help finding out what you have in common with people, I think surprises us a lot of the times too and helps us build those connections and find support when we need it. Thank you so much, Jacob, for jumping on here and sharing your story with all of us.

Do you have any thoughts for closing? Well, I just want to say that just if you feel like you might be having a problem because you know it, but you don't want to admit it, just to speak up. You don't want to get to the point of liver cirrhosis like I did. I was fortunate to survive liver cirrhosis, but unfortunately, a lot of people don't make it. And in being that a lot of people know my story, I do find out about, you know, it's like one of those things where people reach out to me or I hear about different ones that have went through this and I try to help them.

And sometimes it's too late, you know. And so before it gets to that point, like, speak up about it. Don't let shame or stigma. Reach out to some in the sober community if you just need somebody who, like, can can relate or somebody who isn't going to judge you. These ones that have come out of this are not. We know what it's like. We know the struggles.

And so do something about it. Maybe it's just, honestly, if it's somebody just saying, like, I'm drinking less since I've heard about your story, that's great too. Like, it doesn't mean everybody's got to stop. Stop. If stopping is right for you, then that's what it is. So, but you will find. sobriety is life changing and we would not be we would not be shouting it from the rooftops like we are if it wasn't and because we want people to know like this is so much better than what we had like you the potential like there's so much you you can do with your life now and life is beautiful and there's so much to be grateful for and so much to enjoy about it and and you you can do you can do it and

And just don't go at it alone. You can be successful. Yeah, beautiful, man. Yeah, that's the truth. Like, if it was, I think we all have those sort of myths that we believe in. We're going to be boring. There's no more fun. All of these things, no one's going to want to hang out with us.

And I think with time, we realize that none of that stuff comes true. None of it comes true. Our social circles do change. But, like, I don't know, it's almost like when people are struggling with a job, they always think I'm never going to find a better one. or one that I enjoy more, one that's going to pay more. But they always do. You know, everybody's like, I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose my job here.

And then something happens, whatever they quit. They always end up in a spot when you check in with them. They're like, oh, yeah, like that was, yeah, this is much better. It's with sobriety too. It does take time. You even share to like the seven month sort of time frame. It does take time. But I think we do realize, too, that, yeah, things are beautiful.

And you don't have to go through, even what you were mentioning there. of getting drinks from here, going there, sneaking stuff, hiding stuff, all that other stuff. I mean, when you remove that from your life, I mean, my goodness, you open up so much space for other stuff to come in and, you know, probably hanging out with the kids and doing all that cool stuff and really being there for it, showing up for it. And I don't know if this happens to you, but I find myself getting emotional. It's sort of weird, you know, weird things. I'm like, why am I, you know, kind of tearing up or wanting to tear up?

stuff and it's just the beauty of the gratitude you feel things so deeply so yeah you feel you feel them and and sometimes they're not always good feelings you know with this disclaimer but but they're human feelings they are real they're authentic feelings they're like you are alive you are feeling this because you are alive and this is part of how you get stronger these these bad moments and when you get through them because you can get through them if you do it in a healthy way. Go to the gym. Go to say some say a prayer. Do, you know, do your meditation or whatever it is that it helps you, that you mentioned too, some of the things. And go for a walk, you know, but get through those hard and show how strong you are and you will feel so much gratitude

and so much appreciation for life and you feel so strong and it will motivate you to want to do more in your life. Yeah. Motivate you to keep going, man. Thanks again, Jacob. Yeah, thank you. Well, there it is another incredible episode here on the podcast. I'll drop Jacob's information for Instagram down in the show notes below. If you're able to connect with his story at all or have any questions for him or just want to tell him thank you, which I encourage big time, send him over a message. Let him know you appreciate him jumping on the podcast and sharing his story and I'll see you on the next one.