Beginning Previous page 13 Next page
I would later notice that the prescriptions supplied by the hospital included one for Seroquel. I never took any of it, but in the hospital they had been giving it to me until the day
I left. It is probably the most destructive of the ones they used on me, but they are all bad. And I had several at a time in me, along with two dozen or so other drugs.
I was a physical wreck as much because of this as for the confinement and abuse.
The first weeks after my release were spent in the guest room, in bed, rarely leaving. I was extremely weak and asked my host to get a pair of small dumbells, two and a half pounds, to
use to restore functionality to my arms. Prior to my hospitalization I had a habit of doing a hundred push-ups every morning, and often did so again later in the day.
With the small weights I could barely lift one with my right arm, with the left arm I was barely able to lift one more than a few inches. It would be several weeks before I could to
so. After about a month I tried walking outside the house, using my walker and with someone to steady me. I was (and am two years later) unable to stand without some support
and use a cane, and probably always will. I was able to walk perhaps two hundred feet before tiring, and driving was something I didn't even think about, seeing two of my cars parked
in the driveway every time I went out. While in the hospital I had told one of my family members I didn't believe I would ever walk again. Now I could, a little, but driving a
car seemed unlikely in the near future.
My mental condition was not much better. I had no desire to do anything at all, and slept most of the time. I didn't know then the effects of psychotropic drugs, but one is a
lobotomizing effect. It is in fact the primary desired effect, since the desired result is to render the subject unable to undertake any deliberate action. I would remain that
way for a long time.
Two years haven't brought much improvement, and my short-term memory is compromised. I now must use checklists and schedules for routine tasks such as paying bills, checking bank accounts
and other business. Traveling alone is out of the question, beyond visiting family members located a short distance away. Yes, I did eventually begin to drive again, but in my
condition my driving is limited.
Worse perhaps is that I didn't yet know what had happened to me. It was more than a year before I began to look at the hospital records. One of my siblings had the foresight
(and well-founded suspicion) to ask for my records immediately after my discharge.
I eventually acquired the records for my visit to Hospital A (less than a day) and Hospital B (exactly a month, assuming 15 December to 15 January is exactly a month) later, and they were
available in one business day at no cost. The records for Hospital C were not ready for two days and the hospital charged $250.
The were a travesty, mostly marginally legible handwritten notes and obvious lies were soon apparent. I'm now surprised there was any useful information, considering that they
incriminate the hospital. But my experience with them suggests they are secure in the knowledge that they are unlikely to be held accountable for anything, whether incompetence or fraud.
Beginning Previous page 13 Next page
