Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I work in a busy Emergency Room. This weekend, I had a patient who was very jittery and paranoid.  
 
After looking at his chart, I saw that he was seeking treatment for alcoholism. 
 
There is an immediate bias against substance abuse in my E.R. One - we do not have a detox facility. Two - persons seeking treatment for addiction are sometimes looked down on as being less worthy of treatment than, say, someone with angina or other serious "physical" ailments. 
 
At first glance, he was very emaciated, tattooed, pierced, and had a generally belligerent character. He could not sit still, and had a tough, "nobody messes with me" exterior. He had not had a drink in four days. His hands were shaking and there was a scared look in his eyes.
 
He told me that he had been drinking for seventeen years. He had tried to quit many times before but had not been able to.  
 
"So, what's different this time?" I asked.  
 
"Because I'm starting to be mean to the people I love, and I don't want to be. I can see that I'm changing into something else."  
 
That answer helped change my attitude toward him. I could see the pain behind his eyes. Behind the facade, there was a terrified person whose goodness was being claimed by the alcohol. He was desperate for help, but not so sure that his condition was redeemable. 
 
After discussing his case with the admitting physician I found out that he had been addicted to alcohol since about age 11 when his mother supplied him with it. The man was now somewhere in his mid-thirties and had scarcely gone a week in all that time without his crutch. 
 
I thank this man for showing me that we are all good from the inside out. Sometimes the goodness is dressed in all sorts of disguises. Sometimes we have to undress it. It's worth doing.  
 
If we are honest with ourselves we will see that underneath we are all the same.
 
P.S.  My patient was admitted to the hospital for help, despite us not having a detox facility. I send him and other people suffering with addiction thoughts of love and support.