Will you be on the waiting list?
My awareness of health and wellbeing came to light when my Dad was becoming increasingly ill from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a liver disease with an unknown cause. We spent most of my second year of university on the transplant waiting list, ultimately waiting for someone to die for my Dad to live.
Whilst attending clinic appointments we’d be surrounded by patients suffering from alcohol addiction. Although my Dad’s disease was never caused by alcohol, it was heart-breaking to learn the devastating effects alcohol addiction causes, especially when leading to liver disease and ultimately liver failure. It’s not just the patient it impacts but also the family and experiencing this first-hand infuriated me to think that someone could carry on drinking and put their family through this. I started with the mindset of Why can’t you just give up?
My difficulty with the situation heightened whilst at university surrounded by binge drinking students. I always wondered how many of the students I met on nights out, drinking in excess, would one day become addicted and end up on the waiting list. I remember searching the internet for the average number of drinks a student will consume over their time at university. I came across papers similar to that of Craigs et al. (2012) stating that students often drink more than the daily and weekly national recommended drinking guidelines. It discussed how targeted interventions could help and I would often think if just one poster or speech was added to ‘fresher’s week’ it could prevent this awful addiction.
From this, I spent a fair share of my free time researching alcohol addiction. After reading multiple forums discussing alcohol addiction I soon understood that it wasn’t out of choice that they couldn’t just quit. The reasons were vast, from social determinants that caused their addiction in the first place, to mental health problems and even the behaviour changes that occur with addiction. I realised I’d been narrow-minded, not thinking about the bigger picture in someone else’s life. I recognised there was a need for preventative action and I knew I wanted to help in some way. I thought the best way was to voice my story to try and change the way my flatmates perceived excess drinking. I was often involved in events such as ‘Dry January’, abstaining from alcohol for a month, donating any money raised to ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’.
I’ve realised my innate passion to help others and learn about health has led me to my current role in patient-centred cancer research where I’ve witnessed the shocking and damaging effects alcohol addiction can have on your body. Also living in North West England has highlighted the factors that can contribute to higher alcohol consumption and addiction.
I never did change the way my flatmates thought about alcohol, I understand they just wanted to have fun. However, I still believe a difference can be made and would love to explore this in this Master’s degree and a future public health career looking into addiction and health behaviours, hopefully resulting in a real change in our communities. My mindset is now How can I help?
On a final note, on 17th August 2015, my Dad received his transplant. With an eternal thank you to our donor, we are no longer on the waiting list.
Craigs, C. L. et al. (2012) ‘UK student alcohol consumption: A cluster analysis of drinking behaviour typologies’, Health Education Journal, 71(4), pp. 516–526. doi: 10.1177/0017896911406967
