Thanks guys; I think I'm surprised at my own reaction. It's not like I didn't know this was coming, we've discussed this at length in the office over the years as he has progressed. I called my boss to keep her up to date even though she was scheduled out of the office. She'll make time to go & visit with him later in the week or over the weekend when it works better in her schedule.
HP - money will become an issue at some point for him as well, he's ok for now but it won't last for long as his expenses/needs keep increasing. He basically joked that he's gambling that he won't live past his money, but now that that is his reality it's not so funny to him any longer.
Originally Posted by bailey17
You mentioned having to draw firm boundaries with him in the past... boundaries in regards to what?
Oh, typical stuff. Acceptable conversation/jokes when he's talking with me (hold the racism, sexism & political BS please). That I/we are not intermediaries between him & his wife outside of business issues that affect them both - otherwise he'd call & ask me to relay message after message to/from her. That if he shows up at this office obviously intoxicated I
will take keys, call the cops if he leaves in his car, etc. He has a habit of pushing every little thing - I helped him balance his checkbook once when he was having a difficult time (like I would for any client) & then he suddenly needed it done for him every month. Suddenly he could no longer comprehend the intricacies of a bank reconciliation. The more we do for him, the more he creates needs that go too far outside of our client-firm relationship - finding reasons to call the office all the time, often fabricating drama & exaggerating circumstances to cast himself as a victim. We handle his financial management but he'll call me because his plumber didn't show up.
He did however, call one more time late in the afternoon & asked me to help him find a phone number for his ex-daughter-in-law. He had the address from a birthday card she'd sent him recently & he said he "owed her apologies & should do that right away". This is the first time I have ever heard this side from him - he's always been the, "they can all go to heck & kiss my butt" type. He chose isolation for decades to protect his addiction & now he's lonely & scared, finding himself without a friend in the world including his own children.
"now the chickens are coming home to roost" - yes, exactly.