Am I doing the right thing?

I'm thinking. About making my friendship with dear Julie conditional. Maybe that's a sign it ain't a true friendship. But what the heck. I can't stand watching Julie disintegrate. Getting deeper and deeper into depression. Deeper into alcoholic ways. And not allowing her loved ones to intervene. Refusing  to get help for herself. It's a complicated situation. If I had the power and wherewithal, I'd have Julie committed. Into extended treatment. For her steadily declining physical, mental and emotional condition. If I were casting Julie in a movie, she'd play someone just out of Auschwitz. She looks that bad. And her loved ones tell me they feel powerless. Watching. Watching. Watching the decline. I've been encouraging Julie to check into the Mayo Clinic. In nearby Rochester, Minnesota. For a week-long exam and  evaluation. I feel like telling her, do it. Or else I'm cutting off our friendship. I will disassociate myself with Julie. Until she agrees to enter the Mayo Clinic. Tell me, am I doing the right thing? I think so. Desperate times need desperate measures.

Don't get me wrong. I'd never dream of using a ploy, like this, on a friend/loved one who had Alzheimer's. Because that's an entirely different situation. The societal rules are such. That it's easier to intervene in the case of the Alzheimer-riddled. They are deemed incapable of making their own decisions. They have become mentally deficient. Harder to make that case with Julie. She's still functional. In many ways. But irrational. She's still granted the freedom to make her own decisions. Even not to take care of herself adequately. She can't necessarily be put away involuntarily. She has the right to not see a doctor. Or to get treatment. So one must come up with a ploy. To make it happen. Maybe even in a devious way. Yes, maybe it's worth a try. What does one have to lose? By issuing an ultimatum, of sorts. I want to encourage Julie's husband to make an appointment. For Julie. At the Mayo Clinic. And then some how convincing/forcing Julie to go in. In our presence. A true intervention. Which could be a start for getting Julie on the road to recovery. Look at it this way. Nothing ventured. Nothing gained.--Jim Broede