caregiver dreads retirement

Marjory, 62, wants to continue working until she drops, not because she loves her job but because she dreads retirement and the prospect of being a full time caregiver for her sick husband.

"I really dread the prospect of retirement," confides Marjory. "A woman comes in and takes care of my husband now while I'm at work – the cost of which takes up most of my pay -- but once I'm forced to retire I have to shoulder the care-giving myself and I don't think I could bear it."

"I’m healthy and I feel young even though I’m not, and I love being around young people all day," says Marjory. "I know a lot of younger women, especially those with small children, hate having to work, but despite its stresses I'd rather be working than taking care of my husband."

“It’s important that I keep on working for as long as she can in many respects," explains Marjory. "I not only bring home the bacon but I also bring home lots of stories about work that my husband enjoys hearing, when he's lucid, that is.”

"Much of my role as a caregiver for him when I'm home involves keeping his mind active," says Marjory. "The poor man has very little intellectual stimulation during the day, so in many respects his lucidity depends upon the survival of my job. I must overcome this problem I've having. If I don't, my whole world as I know it will fall apart more than it has already."

"Once I’m forced to retire I dread the prospect of spending 24/7 with my husband, watching his mind slipping away," sighs Marjory. "A lot of women hate having a husband underfoot all day, but in my case I will become a full-time caregiver - doing things for him that no wife should have to do for her husband."

"It scares the living daylights out of me."