I should be dead, but I’m alive. Bitcoin helped change and shape my life. My journey started the day I was born, but only recently have I been on my path and direction, and life has only just begun. Let’s go back to 14 years ago. I was in high school and had my first beer, then my first shot of vodka. I knew it was trouble; I remember the feeling of the first shot I ever took. I remember that moment- like it was nothing, or so I thought.
Three years later, I was turning 21 soon- but already had connections for bottles, daily in the previous years. Six years later, I was a full-blown alcoholic. I couldn’t do anything without being intoxicated, and I mean anything. I didn’t have friends, and my family heavily disliked me for my drunk antics- that seemed to happen far too often, and I can’t blame them. Another three years passed of dysfunctional relationships, mental health, physical health, and everything else in my life was deteriorating rapidly. Though I was at a point where I at least admitted out loud to family members I have a severe alcohol problem and wanted to quit.
I couldn’t; my body needed the alcohol at this point, and the withdrawal was beyond explanation. Only a few months had passed since admitting for the first time that I had severe problems with alcohol, being an alcoholic, and having alcoholism. I crashed my vehicle; it was almost fatal. Thankfully no one else was involved. I was charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI); it was a sign… I started trying to quit and slow down the drinking, which did work in a way- but my body still physically needed it every day. I genuinely wasn’t sure what to do at that point. Not too long after that, I received a phone call one day. I had just purchased some lunch, which I never ended up eating.
I was so sick from the phone call that my aunt passed away. Her death certificate read “Cause of Death: Alcoholism.” I drank an entire liter of vodka that day, and through the next 4-6 weeks, I did just that every day. I don’t want to get descriptive, but I was drinking an amount of vodka that would kill a regular human body, 10x over. Then “someday” came suddenly… I’m at my mother’s boyfriend’s farmhouse, in the field. My entire body gave up, it completely stopped working, and I mean everything stopped working. My body was done, and alcohol entirely and irreversibly destroyed my internals. I tried writing a note in the dirt unsuccessfully, saying I was sorry at the hospital, the doctors and nurses all gathered, looking at my paperwork, bloodwork, etc.
I was supposed to die. I wasn’t even supposed to make it to rehab or detox. Every doctor in the hospital was in my room. I told them, “I need to live. My daughter needs a real father, a role model, and not the person I used to be.” I did not die after millions of different drugs and stabilizers and was transported to the detox/rehabilitation center. I was there for two weeks, and those two weeks felt like a devastating, utterly emotional, disturbing- 10 years. I had to be watched 24/7, or I would pass at the hands of professional care- they were even nervous about doing their job for me. That is a scary feeling. I started painting and being my creative self again, alive. I was “human after.” Patients/staff enjoyed the sober me, and the doctors and nurses were blown away by my results. This was “do or die”- literally, and I knew that. “Rock bottom” had officially happened. I remember the day I was released; the staff still wasn’t sure if they could even let me go- because of the high risk of death still imminent. I remember a nurse who didn’t like my happy demeanor given the circumstances, she told me I would fail sobriety and relapse, and she can’t wait to see me back when I do.
I painted her something to always remember me by. If you are wondering, she will never have the satisfaction she so inappropriately and disgustingly sought. They released me on April 21st, 2021- at 8:30 AM; my brother, being the man he is, with open arms, picked me. Like a baby, just born into the world- I knew nothing. I didn’t know who I was, but I knew how I arrived. Again, these were terrifying times that were self-induced, and mentally I was completely broken. Physically, I looked like a severely overweight- sickly walking object. So the journey began. Every day was an entire month of learning and wondering how I had even made it through life with the simplest of tasks. As the days came and went, every day was jam-packed with a million and one situations testing me- and teaching me. I started to care about everything in my life. With the background I have just told you, it’s obvious my financial situation was a complete train wreck, along with just about everything else. Only six days later, I found Bitcoin, or should I say- Bitcoin found me. I couldn’t have been more curious. What is this thing that someone mentioned to me seven years ago, but I was too intoxicated to care or even grasp the concept- but the memory was still in my brain?
I dove in with so much to learn and recover in my life. I started putting in the time and slowly understanding. Everything in my life started to come together. The more I cared about the very life I had complete control over, the more I became “someone”… family, friends, and anyone who knew me, slowly noticing and accepting that I was serious about not repeating my past. I was hired for a job, paid my bills on time, and my daughter wanted to spend time with me for once. Over time the pieces kept falling into place meticulously. Fast forward to the present day.
I regularly attend a gym membership and am very conscious about my health and diet. I have started many inspirational/motivational social media channels. I am trying to contribute to every aspect of what little life I have left. I am mentally so in tune with my brain and body and how they function. I am conscientious about who I let in my life now; not everyone is here to help- but sometimes to destroy what we are creating. Keep things private; comparison is the killer of all joy. I understand my past so that I can generate a future. I’m now someone who can be counted on and respected- it feels good.
I believe we all have a reason for living. I had almost lost my life to realize how precious it was to me. My time is limited now, minimal. If you are reading this, all I can say is if you are “searching” for yourself, a purpose in life, and so on. I hope you don’t need to be acquaintanced with death to realize it. You can do anything you want in this world and become someone amazing- quicker than you think. Your opportunity starts right now. My name is Austin A. Welch (Rhythm), and this is my story. Thank you.
This is a guest post by Austin Welch. You can follow him on Twitter @rhythmesadancer.Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Satoshi’s Journal or Satoshi’s Entertainment Company.
