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Someone close to me has said something to the affect of “caretaking Riley really isn’t very hard.” It was inferred that I am only doing this for the money. The first thing that came to my mind was “What money?” First of all, I’m not a nurse. I hate doing anything that even resembles nursing. That includes taking care of Riley. There isn’t enough money anywhere to make caretaking him a pleasant experience. When I was 12 years old, I helped in the caretaking of my grandmother. I loved her dearly. She was my “go to” person and I loved spending time with her. My duties were to take her the bedpan and then empty it. Make sure she has water, snacks and anything else she needed to keep her comfortable. I didn’t mind doing it because it made her happy. But, it awakened me to the fact that I didn’t want a career in nursing. My aunt offered to pay for my entire college education if I went into nursing. I declined the offer in favor of attending fashion design school. Read more »

I want to vent a little bit today. Just a little bit, I promise. I received a very pleasant e-mail from a person who represents a drug and alcohol rehab center. The nice lady on the phone said they wanted to see if possibly they could be a guest poster on this blog. I checked out their website and I loved the concept of their program. It was not your run of the mill rehab where the client is showered with lots of AA and then sent on their way. They have a very viable alternative to the standard rehab center. I commend them for that. Can you guess what my one big objection might be? Where’s the family program? There are all these wonderfully inventive things for the addicted person, but I saw absolutely nothing for the family. I was disappointed because I thought they could have used that creativity to expand their current programs to those who have been left in the peripheral damage zone of the addicted person. I brought this issue up to the lady on the phone and she said she would dis...

I was just notified by one of my readers that after purchasing the Workbook for Caretakers of End Stage Alcoholics, she did NOT receive a link for the download of the actual book. If you purchased this and did not receive it --- PLEASE, let me know so I can get one to you. ASAP. Contact me at LindaWrites@live.com or ImmortalAlcoholic@gmail.com. I apologize that you did not get your copy. I wasn't aware that the system was not working properly. Thanks, Linda

Do you know how long it takes for the brain to be alcohol toxin free after an alcoholic quits drinking? Do you understand the legal ramifications of staying married to an alcoholic? Do you have a safe place to escape when things get heated at your house? Have you a support system when you just need to vent? Linda’s Place will provide all these things for anyone who is battling the dilemma of staying or moving on. It is a recovery center for families and friends of alcoholics. This is not just a glorified Al-Anon center. However, Al-Anon will be invited to hold meetings at the center. This center is a place of education, support and resources. At Linda’s Place you will find on-going Read more »

This week marks the end of any extra help in caretaking Riley. About a week ago I received a call from our Veterans Administration social worker and was told that they were assigning me 12 hours a week from a personal care aide. The very next day I received another call from the same social worker that my 12 hours had been taken back because the VA has discontinued the program that gives that benefit to any veteran who does not have a service related disability. I will have no aide, no respite time, and the visiting nurses paid for by Medicare are at their end of time. We have physical therapy and occupational therapy for another week. Then I’m on my own. Riley has improved under the direction of the PT and OT. He can now get out of the bed and into his wheelchair. He can also get to the shower and have a real chance to clean up. I should be happy for him. He can do those things but requires Read more »