Another Drop of Alcohol Could Kill Him. Fitness Fuels His Sobriety.

AARON SANCHEZ WAS dreading an appointment with the doctor. After 20 years of drinking a fifth of vodka a day, he knew the news wouldn’t be good. A peek online at his blood work earlier that day had already confirmed his biggest fear: cirrhosis of the liver. Now he was about to find out just how severely he’d destroyed the organ, which was so enlarged and calcified it protruded from his abdomen.

For support, Sanchez brought along his then-fiancée/now-wife, Carrie Steele. The doctor gave it to Sanchez straight: “One more drop, you’re dead.” Confused, Sanchez asked what that meant. Cut back? The doctor looked Sanchez right in the eyes and repeated: “One more drop, you’re dead.”

That was November 11, 2022. Sanchez hasn’t had a drop of alcohol since. The 43-year-old pipe fitter from suburban Phoenix now recites his sobriety date as easily as his birthday. Eleven-eleven.

But the early stages were rough. Sanchez didn’t work for a month, dealing with restless sleep and other physical effects of alcohol withdrawal. He became even more despondent when a further diagnosis from a liver specialist showed that his cirrhosis was stage 4, the type that’s irreversible even with medication. Sanchez also learned he was type 2 diabetic. He barely ate. Motivation was scarce—until he realized where he needed to look.

Sanchez has a 16-year-old son, Aaron Jr., from a previous relationship, and Sanchez and Steele share a five-year-old son, Adin, who has periventricular nodular heterotopia, or PVNH, a rare brain malformation that occurs prior to birth and is incurable. Incurable just like stage 4 liver cirrhosis.

This hit Sanchez one day when he was seated on the sofa in his living room, suffering from withdrawal. Steele and Adin had gone out for ice cream. “I just wanted to wither away,” Sanchez recalls. “As an alcoholic, you think you’re missing out on the fun when you’re not drinking. But you don’t realize you’re actually missing out on life.”

Sanchez has long considered Adin a miracle—most males with PVNH die before birth or shortly after. Realizing that addiction had prevented him from truly being with his sons became his fuel for change.

The first thing Sanchez did was call his boss and get back to work. He also hit the gym. He hasn’t stopped exercising since. Sanchez had always worked out on and off, even when he was drinking. But at six-foot-one, he had ballooned to more than 300 pounds with a size 40 waist. So he started working out three times a week with resistance bands. He then eased into weights, knowing his cirrhosis and high blood pressure could trigger a stroke that could kill him. Now he lifts weights for 90 minutes six or seven times a week.

Sanchez gets most of his cardio walking on the job. He works six ten-hour days a week as a union pipe fitter for UA Local 469 out of Phoenix. On a typical day, he logs 18,000 to 20,000 steps on his Fitbit. Besides doing all that walking, Sanchez plays basketball with friends.

Diet-wise, Sanchez now fuels up before and after workouts on plant-based organic protein powders plus greens, zero-sugar Greek yogurt, and lots of grilled chicken and rice, a nod to his Mexican heritage. To keep his blood sugar in check, he doesn’t eat sweets (though he’s a fan of Lenny & Larry’s high-protein cookies). He’s given up red meat, except for the occasional steak on date nights with Steele.

Sanchez pictured with one of his sons, Adin, who is living with PVNH.

He takes medications to help process what his liver can’t and prevent “foggy brain,” a condition caused by a buildup of ammonia from diminished liver function. Sanchez has shed 95 pounds. He’s down to a 31-inch waist. However, stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver can be a death sentence without a liver transplant.

Doctors can’t tell Sanchez how long he has. But during a recent visit, his physician took off his glasses, closed his laptop, and, based on the encouraging results of his blood work, said, according to Sanchez, “I don’t know how you did it. But keep doing what you’re doing.”

Sanchez plans to, because while the health benefits have been amazing, they still can’t match his newfound ability to be fully present for his sons. The highlight of Sanchez’s day, he says, is snuggling with Adin at bedtime and reading him a book.

It’s peace. It’s powerful. It’s pure motivation.

Want even more inspiration? Explore the rest of this year’s Ultimate Men’s Health Guy competition.

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