Mrs. Abraham is a 78-year-old woman who lives by herself in a small town. She is in fairly good health, still drives, and goes to the supermarket and town library at least once a week.

Recently, she had a minor car accident driving home from the supermarket. Mrs. Abraham sounded confused and disoriented to the police, so they called her daughter Carolyn, who took Mrs. Abraham to her doctor.

After a medical exam and an interview with Mrs. Abraham, Dr. Richmond asked to speak to Carolyn alone. To Carolyn's astonishment, the doctor said he believes that Mrs. Abraham has a drinking problem. "She is currently intoxicated according to a blood alcohol level test and has elevated readings on recent liver tests," he said. Dr. Richmond suspects that she has also had memory blackouts, because he has had lengthy conversations with her that she couldn't recall. She has also had a few falls that the doctor said were unusual for someone with her good balance and coordination.

Carolyn never suspected that her mother was drinking more than an occasional glass of wine or brandy. She has never seen her mother intoxicated, and her mother always has an explanation if she couldn't remember conversations, if she had a fall, or if she dented her car, which she has done on several previous occasions.

Dr. Richmond explained that when her lab tests showed liver problems, he tried to talk about with her, but she got so humiliated and angry that he dropped it. "The car accident was a blessing in disguise," he said, because it will allow him to insist that she get help.

Carolyn agrees to help in any way she can and offers to discuss the situation with her brother and sisters to see what they can do.