Ok, so I have this new client. 79 year old physician. He retired three years ago when he started to loose his mind (dementia). He lives in a glorious condo with his dedicated house wife of 50 years. She's 77. He's quite compliant and very willing to accept direction from me but he's been nasty lately to his wife. She's loosing her mind trying to be patient with him.
They still sleep in the same bed, the daughter is a psychiatrist and here I am helping him to not drive her nuts. Only deal is that its like looking after a 6 year old all over again.
When I was with my last client I thought long and hard about how difficult it must be to have had no children, no living relatives and nobody really there to care and love you. I was thinking shit i need a wife and I need kids quick before I end up alone. Then I see this man, with a dedicated wife, great kids and he's only got the frustration of now knowing what he ate 5 minutes earlier. I see that and I think shit I don't want to put family through that either. I don't want to leave them with memories of wow, for his final years he was a mess, confused and not the man we remember.
I really need a new career. I'm very good at what I do, but this is just killer watching families as their loved ones decline into nursing homes and eventually to death. Why am I so comfortable around misery? Do I hope that by suffering with people now that my later years will be peaceful? Fuck, some days I wish I drank!
