Joseph, My Alchoholic Friend Part 1

Last Monday, when I was on the internet, I got a call from Maddy that our dear friend Joseph who is 65 years old had collapsed on the floor in his condominium and could not pick himself up. He had soiled himself in the process.
Apparently there was some miscommunication between his friends Johnny and James that led him to wait for them at the airport for over 3 hours earlier in the afternoon.
Anyway, all through out the 3 hour wait at the airport, Joseph had nothing to eat or drink but his good ol' friendly Moskovi vodka. Finally, Joseph decided to head back home-minus his friends whom he was supposed to pick up. Upon Joseph reaching home, only then did his friends land themselves at KLIA.
Joseph was real lucky because when he collapsed, his friends had just arrived at the condo. His wife Joanne was away visiting their children in Kuala Lumpur.
Joseph is approximately 6Ft 2. And he is quite a big guy. His friends tried to give him a hand up but was unsuccessful. They managed to clean him up though. Joseph is really lucky because at the very same time another two friends, Peter and Robert happenned to drop by too. Robert is a doctor by profession. Looking at Joseph's condition, he was quite sure there was some extensive damage to Joseph's liver. Joseph was having jaundice too. A sign that his liver is in some sort of trouble. Joseph seemed disorientated and incoherent. His friends finally managed to haul him to a chair. He looked ghostlike, a hugeVodka belly - a skeleton with skin and bones. James was appalled when he saw Joseph's condition. The last these two met was a year ago and James vouched that Joseph looked so much better then.
They decided to call the ambulance but none of them spoke Bahasa. Joseph is one hell of a lucky fella. Thank his lucky stars for Maddy was around. She called for the ambulance.When the ambulance arrived, Joseph refused to go to the hospital. He said he was alright. If in the morning he felt sick again, then he would go to the hospital. The ambulance attendants could not force Joseph to go with them. In the end, they left with an empty stretcher.
When Maddy related the whole incident to me, I was devastated. Imagine how his friends, James and Johnny would have felt? Here they have travelled a thousand miles to visit their buddy and he is in such a deplorable condition.
Maddy then told me that Joseph is an alchoholic. That hit me like a brick.
I immediately called Peter and as we spoke I could feel the desperation in Peter's voice. Peter and Joseph have been friends for a very long time too. It was too much for any of them to find their good friend sprawled on the floor like as if clutching on to dear life. I told Peter that I would come down the next day and pay Joseph a visit.
Actually, I have known Joseph for slightly over a year. In this time, we (Steve & I) have spent every weekend together with him. We shared lots of barbecues, dinners and yes, drinking sessions (most of the time). Little did we realize that Joseph is indeed an alchoholic.