Here's what Wikipedia says about the part of Mike's brain that was injured in the fall - the prefrontal cortex:

This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, decision making and moderating correct social behavior. The basic activity of this brain region is considered to be orchestration of thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals.

The most typical psychological term for functions carried out by the pre-frontal cortex area is executive function. Executive function relates to abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social "control" (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially-unacceptable outcomes).

With that information, it's easy to see why rehab for alcoholism might not do much good. What I don't know is whether the injury is permanent or temporary. He's still planning to resume "Bub Days" (lunch dates where he over-indulges), according to what he said tonight when our friends Jon and Trish were visiting.

They, by contrast, are planning "Bub Days" where no alcohol is served at someplace like McAlister's. It's looking to me like Mike can never be trusted again with car keys and money. I'm afraid he will head to the nearest liquor store or bar. He may have to be confined from now on. We still have a lot of questions to answer.

Please pray that I get the information I need to make the wisest choices possible. And thank God he didn't injure or kill someone else when he drove intoxicated. December 21st, 2008 could have been even more tragic than it was.