Everybody has a guilty pleasure, but some people have the willpower to control their urges while others allow these urges to take over their lives. With that being said, a lot of people use their guilty pleasures as a means of self-medicating themselves to deal with mental issues such as stress or depression.
Beverley Pickorer, a 35-year-old mother of four, knows all about self-medication.
Beverley turned to alcohol in her early 20s as a way of getting over several failed relationships. But as she continued to try and drink away her problems, she grew more and more dependent on alcohol. Her illness and addiction eventually became so extreme that she was consuming somewhere around 40 beers a day!
By the time she reached her mid 30s, Beverley's health had already begun to diminish...
At just 35 years old, Beverley began to succumb to a fatal illness caused by cirrhosis of the liver. She began losing her teeth as well as the ability to speak fluently. She spent months in a critical care facility where she was unable to do anything for herself. Her devoted partner Anthony Howard stayed by her side at every step, but he knew he wanted to use her horrible situation to help others.
So he released several images of the horrible effects alcohol had on Beverley.
The images are extremely shocking and may be difficult to look at for some people. Beverley's teeth rotted entirely, her skin became yellow from jaundice and her skeleton-like frame left her almost unrecognizable. She began suffering from constant epileptic seizures and could no longer do anything for herself.
Now Anthony was forced to watch his beloved wait for an untimely death.
As time passed, Beverley's condition continued to worsen. She lost her vision completely and was completely bedridden. All nurses could do was turn her body over every few hours to avoid the possibility of bed sores. After decades of heavy alcohol abuse, Beverley had ultimately lost everything, and her children and loved ones could do nothing but watch.
Beverley passed away in August of 2014.
Beverley's story is as eye-opening as it is sad. At such a young age, a crippling addiction to alcohol ultimately caused Beverley her life. Addiction is always a scary thing, but it is so, so important to remember that there are always ways to defeat it, and always loved ones to support you.
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