CAREGIVING REVIEW WITH HUNTER THOMPSON

A caregiving review needs an expert.

I am that expert and this is my review with help from Hunter Thompson.

His famous quotes are care-worthy:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a ride!’.

 

What a ride? That’s nice.

The problem is the people with that goal burn the candle at both ends and they’re all worn out.

But they keep living with someone else’s hands on the wheel.

That someone is their caregiver if they’re lucky.

The burned out husk of humanity that used to be someone now needs help with the Activities Of Daily Living.

 

The basic ADLs include the following categories:

• Ambulating: The extent of an individual’s ability to move from one position to another and walk independently.

• Feeding: The ability of a person to feed oneself.

• Dressing: The ability to select appropriate clothes and to put the clothes on.

• Personal hygiene: The ability to bathe and groom oneself and maintain dental hygiene, nail, and hair care.

• Continence: The ability to control bladder and bowel function

• Toileting: The ability to get to and from the toilet, use it appropriately, and clean oneself.

 

Help With The Activities Of Daily Living

I spent five years tending to my father in-law.

The day started with changing urine soaked depends with three extra liquid absorbing pads arranged in there.

His Parkinson’s was so advanced that the medical community gave up on him.

I gave up on him too when he was in the hospital facing what looked like The End.

But his wife never gave up on him and she looked like she would follow him down.

It was a stressful time, so I stepped up and offered to care for him at home so my mother in-law could cut down on her eighteen hour days at his bedside.

I looked up ‘loyal’ in the dictionary and found her picture. (Hey Judy)

After I got the old man up and around, cleaned up and dressed, I changed a urine soaked bed.

That was the way the day started for five years.

It nearly broke me, but I had great support from the family.

The kids were starting high school, my wife’s business was going strong, my mother in-law was a total shark at navigating the healthcare system.

My job was working the daily activities of life, but I did a little more:

I gave my father in-law something to live for.

He regained his voice, put on twenty pounds, and joined in family activities instead of laying in bed all day.

He also regained his self-respect and dignity with one caregiver instead of shift workers.

 

Life After Anticipated Death Caregiving Review

Hunter Thompson slid in broadside in a cloud of gun smoke when he capped himself at home with family in the next room.

Years of alcohol and cocaine abuse contributed to his problem with depression.

Thompson’s inner circle told the press that he had been depressed and always found February a “gloomy” month, with football season over and the harsh Colorado winter weather.

He was also upset over his advancing age and chronic medical problems, including a hip replacement; he would frequently mutter “This kid is getting old.”

 

The ‘kid’ was sixty-seven years old.

Sixty-seven and he was what he hoped he’d be, used up and worn out.

My caregiving review says he would have been a problem patient.

Why?

Because, my friends, of fear.

Young and brave can grow to old and wary, old and feeble, old and losing the mental health game.

Do you understand how that works?

A heavy drinking night combined with bumps of cocaine and you might wake up late, groggy, and unable to find your ass with both hands.

From what I’ve heard.

Do that for a few decades and the fun guy may not be so much fun.

Once the shit kicks in and you can’t live without it, the daily activities of life take a sharp turn.

When the patient is in charge, and they’re not reliable, the caregiver review is a fail grade.

The moral of the story?

Try and enjoy fame for what it is, a peak experience with a steep downside.

There comes a time when responsible people tell their loved ones, “No more driving, I’m taking the keys.”

What’s the right approach to a gun guy in decline without getting shot in the process?