   Thank you all so much for your responses and your interest. Here is the letter I sent to my attorney shortly after my last post here (I have removed some sensitive information):
"Dear ***, Since our first meeting on November 6, 2008, I have regarded you not only my attorney but a trusted and valued friend, as well. However, no relationship, either personal or professional, can withstand betrayal of trust, such as that which you have committed by being dishonest with me, withholding information from me, and failing to fulfill the legal services you promised to provide for which I paid you a retainer of $2,000.00 with my personal check numbered *** on November 6, 2008.
In the same spirit as my discussions with you regarding my former Arlington healthcare providers, I, as any other client, should at the very least be able to trust my attorney to be honest and forthright with me, to be an advocate for me, and to act at all times in my best interest and to the benefit of my welfare (see attached).
The detrimental impact on my medical, emotional, psychological, and financial well-being as a result of your duplicity and mishandling of my legal affairs to date has been extensive, even triggering repeated prolonged and severe depressive episodes. Since I have not had access to appropriate support or medical care as a result of my family’s unauthorized and unwarranted interference, and due to the fact that I live alone, I cannot afford to have my ability to function and care for myself compromised in any way.
Perhaps you are not the honorable and ethical person I believed you to be, and perhaps I have given you more credit than you deserve. If this is the case, then I am certain that my words here mean nothing to you whatsoever.
On the other hand, if you truly are the honorable and ethical person I believed you to be, but have allowed financial or other pressures you may have encountered (e.g., establishing your legal practice while trying to provide for your family) to adversely influence your actions, then you may have compromised your principles unintentionally. If this is the case, then you should know me well enough by now to know that I am compassionate and understanding, and that all I require of you or anyone is to be honest with me. If you were not able or willing to perform the legal services which you committed to provide me, you should have informed me of such and returned my retainer, instead of deceiving me and stringing me along with unfulfilled promises and empty assurances.
Whatever the truth about you and/or your situation, you have betrayed the trust I placed in you to respect, protect, and advocate for my human and legal rights, as well as my very life. You have wasted much of my time, as well as my limited energy and financial resources, thereby inflicting on me even more unnecessary and unwarranted physical, emotional, and psychological pain, stress, and damage, in addition to that already inflicted upon me by my former employer and medical and disability insurance carriers, my family members and their associates, and my former healthcare providers.
For many months now, you have ignored my e-mails and questions, refused to answer and/or return my telephone calls, failed to provide me with the information, documents, and copies that I have repeatedly requested and/or that you have promised, and lied to me about your activities and contact information, as well as your intentions regarding handling my legal affairs and situation.
As you know, I have personally performed almost all of the legal research and completed all of the document preparation with little or no guidance/input from you. These efforts have been extremely taxing on me both physically and mentally. I can only surmise that your apathy, inaccessibility, and duplicity in your dealings with me clearly demonstrate that you do not value me as a person, a friend, or a client, nor consider me to be deserving of your respect and consideration, thus making a reliable and trustworthy professional relationship between us unviable.
Therefore, although it grieves me deeply, ***, you have left me no choice but to terminate your services as my attorney effective immediately. Also effective immediately, I hereby revoke all authorizations, releases, appointments, and designations indicating you as my representative and/or agent in any and all legal matters concerning me, and request that you forward my complete file to me.
I further request that you refund the $2,000.00 retainer fee that I paid you with my personal check numbered *** on November 6, 2008, if for no other reason than as a matter of conscience, so that I may seek elsewhere the necessary legal counsel, representation, and protection that I so desperately need and to which I am entitled under the law.
I have no desire to sit in judgment on you as a person, *** - that's not my job; nor do I desire to do injury to your reputation and fledgling legal career. As always, I hope only the best for you, your career, and your family. Therefore, it is my sincere hope that we can resolve this situation amicably and to our mutual satisfaction without engaging in a formal grievance process, arbitration, and/or litigation.
If you are indeed currently experiencing financial difficulties and this is the cause of or a significant contributing factor in your mishandling of my affairs, I could be amenable to a mutually-agreed upon and documented repayment plan for refunding the $2,000.00 retainer to me. I will expect to receive your written response, my entire file, and the refund of the $2,000.00 retainer or your proposed plan for repaying the retainer to me in no more than ten (10) business days from your receipt of this letter which is being transmitted to you at both your Texas and Oklahoma offices via e-mail, fax, and U.S. Postal Service. Regards,
Attachment (Handwritten Receipt for Retainer Dated November 6, 2008)"
He called me the following morning after I faxed and e-mailed this letter. He sounded like he was having a complete meltdown - kept apologizing, said he had been a crappy attorney and friend, had let me, his family, himself, and everyone else down, that he would definitely refund my retainer although he didn't have all of it at the moment, that he would help me find another attorney, and that he hated practicing law and was going to try to find a job back in IT. Said he never intended to practice law, but fell back on his degree when he was laid off from his IT job a couple of years ago.
Whether or not he was sincere remains to be seen - perhaps he is just trying to pacify and placate me as usual. About a week ago, I asked him to sign a document saying that he would refund my retainer - I have had no response to date on that count and have received no referrals to other attorneys - just an e-mail from him telling me that I am one of the best writers he has ever known and that I should write a book - any kind of book (kissing up?) - and asking if I had a safe deposit box at my bank (?). Since he failed to answer the 3 questions I had e-mailed to him and didn't even acknowledge that I had asked him those questions (as usual), I didn't answer his question about the safe deposit box. He e-mailed a couple of generic, state-specific estate docs, but still no sample Cease & Desist letter to send to my fam and former doctors to stop defaming me, so I can get a new doctor and the medical care that I desperately need. He has to realize that he has damaged his credibility with me, so the burden of redeeming himself and earning my trust is his alone. Otherwise, he's going to end up the topic of one of the chapters in that book he says I should write! 
He has a few more days, then I will forward the above letter to the State Bar Association and begin the process of filing a formal grievance against him. I just hate it when people assume that they have the right to play games with my life - or anyone else's. I have to admit that the stress of waiting for the other shoe to drop is wearing on me - kicks my heart murmur into high gear everytime I think about it all. And, now, I have shingles again and still can't go to the doctor.
Anyway, that's the latest, folks - thanks for asking.
__________________
"I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chattered all the way, But left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow and ne'er a word said she; But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!"
(Robert Browning Hamilton; "Along The Road")
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