A tragic story of two addicts

The title isn't a click-bait. It's a true story that I want to share with you. I finally decided to tell it, because I feel that it belongs here.

"Hi, I'm an addict." is something I can say without problems now.
I had my ups and downs, but I feel almost free. I had over 720 days of freedom, then there was a shameful slip (I broke one of my rules) and I felt that I had to reset my counter.
Despite that I believe I'm almost successful in my fight against addiction, since I have my life back in almost all areas. Some urges that happen I consider just a nuisance I have to live with and keep away from.

"Hi, I'm an addict." is something that another member of my family could never say with truth to herself. It was my mother-in-law.
She was a drinker before her husband's death and a heavy-drinker afterwards. When I married her daughter, I learnt about her problems very quickly. Long story short, everything went sideways after my wedding.
She was surrounded by her five children and me begging her to do something. We thought that giving her some positive spotlight during our wedding would be, well, positive. I don't think we were too harsh on her. We did not know why, but she decided to leave her family house and leave her children, two of who were small kids.
What could bring an addict to that decision? A men. She believed him. She would say that he loved her, while in truth he happened to be a parasite.
She was living away from her children and away from our lives, sometimes disturbing our peace. It was complicated.
The worst thing was that we had no legal way to send her to any treatment or get her away from that guy. We really tried everything. We just managed to take away some of her rights, so that she stopped getting money on booze from her kids' money. Law was practically useless.
Around five years passed. Suddenly, she was thrown away from that guy. We made sure that she could not use us any longer, so she was without a house. My brother-in-law found a place for her for three days. She would have an operation afterwards, and she was supposed to get there by herself.
A week passed. Me and my wife were woken up suddenly. Our brother-in-law called that she was found dead in a completely different house, where some mentally-ill man lived (you have that kind of unharmful guy in every village). How she got there, sorry, but I cannot say. It's a criminal case. What is the most important, we had to go there, as we were the only people available at that moment, and it obviously was an emergency.
We got to that house. My wife, her daughter, could not enter and I think you can understand why. She knew what she would find there.
I went in. It was grotesque. The mentally-ill old man was there watching tv on his couch. I already knew that he wasn't harmful. He pointed where was the room with her and he got back to watching the telly.
I walked into the room and saw her lying on a couch covered with a sheet. Her skin was yellow and flies were invading her body and dried open mouth. She was cold and stiff. There was a slight smell of a rotting body.
I don't think that I'll ever forget this view.
Later I realised that our fates intertwined in a weird way. I would always pray for her, it was the only thing I could do. I didn't think that I will be the last family member to see her.

Two addicts in one room. One victorious, one defeated. However, what's left for me is the complete opposite of any satisfaction. Only an overwhelming grief.
She hurt us so badly, but we always hoped and prayed that one day she'll come to us and ask for help once again, like she used to before my wedding. The cause of her death was strictly related to her addiction.

I don't want her death to go to waste. I want to redeem her at least by sharing this true story, showing what an addiction can cause, even if you're surrounded by a loving family. If you're given a chance to recover, take it at all costs. Our whole community is here for you to help.

Pray for her. Pray for me. Pray for every addict in our community.