Just to give another percpective: the husbands, cargivers feel isolated, scared and sometimes filled with dread, not unlike what you are feeling. We have kids and I often wonder if they feel the same but I doubt it. Kids have a very effect means of escaping through their friends. Not that I would want them to feel the way I do because I don't neccessarily think it's healthy. What I do know, our healthy friends don't have a clue! And that not wanting to know I find translates into avoidance behaviour. Linda and I are lucky and we talked about it just yesterday, if we weren't close or able to talk, the isolation and fear would be unbearable, That why I agree that friendship is the key to keeping everyone mentally healthy enough to want to get physically better.
Those of you wanting to be in direct conversation with eachother, there is a very easy and free way through internet telephony. There is a program called SKYPE: go to
www.skype.com Download the recent version and create your user identity. You need a microphone and speakers and you are all set. You then call (like on a telephone) a friend, whose identity you know and then you have it: free long distance perfectly legal.
Regards
Al