If you don't laugh, you'll cry: easy child's wkly call from psychiatric ward where she "works"

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
OMG, she tells the best stories! And she is learning to laugh instead of cry. (Don't know if I mentioned the time she called me, sobbing, when she had the worst wk of her life.)
Last wk, there was a funeral at the hospital. One of the long-term, elderly pts. Friends, aka other pts, were asked to come up and say a word or two.
You can see where this is going ...
One man stood up and sang, "JeeeeeeeeeessssssuS ... IS ..."
That's it. He sat down. (Is what?)
Another man stripped naked and ran around the room.
A toothless woman, who chews her tongue and acts really tough, (and is schizophrenic), stood up and said, "I'm a hit man. If you want to know what happened to your mother, I killed her. I'll see you afterward for payment."
Yes, the family was there. easy child said they smiled and said, "Thank you ..." and just blew her off. :holymoly:

AND her supervisor offered her a job!!!! She asked how much longer easy child is in school (a yr-and-a-half ... and then PhD program).
Oh. :(
"Well, if you need a ltr of recommendation for graduate school, I'll be happy to give one." :)
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
The family must have had a great sense of humor. It was good of them to have a service at the hospital for the other patients. Though it was odd, for sure, they each were able to say goodbye in their own way.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Yes, Loth. Very odd, but they do deserve to day goodbye in their own way, because they lived with-her for so many yrs.
Strange how some of them convoluted their relationship, especially the hit man/woman.
easy child is excited because several pts signed paperwork with-their lawyers, allowing her to do art therapy with-her. :)
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Terry, I don't always diligently read the Water Cooler so I'm late to this party, but this absolutely cracked me up partly because I was a patient on a psychiatric ward and some of the patients were psychotic and I probably have a ton of stories too. I was there ten weeks so after getting over being scared, I JUST LAUGHED! You had to!

There was a woman once who was very, very manic and must have weighed four hundred pounds. One night she pranced into the hallway in her birthday suit with a sponge and was washing her, errrrr, privates while shouting about how she wanted everyone to forgive her for not contributing to the pizza we'd ordered out (and let her eat). "I AM FINANCIALLY EMBARASSED!" It was her favorite phrase and all the patient copied it. The dear girl. When not manic out of her mind, she was brilliant, spoke six languages, and had two degrees from college, but she was one of those patients whom medications never completely took away her psychosis.

Another time, a catatonic woman was brought in at night. As she sat in the day room waiting to be admitted, t he rest of us were sweating out our minds because there was no air conditioning t here and it was over 100 degrees outside. It was miserable and we were in a teaching hospital in a bad part of Chicago...we did not have suburban perks there like air conditioning on all floors, but we DID tend to get well, which is why I picked going there. Anyhow, back to the sweating. We were dipping clothes into cold water bowls when suddenly t he cataonic woman, who had not moved at all since coming in, suddenly jerked into life and started singing Christmas carols, with a vacant look in her eyes. I think all of us fell off the couch cracking up. It hardly felt like Christmas!!! (By the way, this particular young woman had stopped her medications and the hospital staff put her back on them. Two days later she was talking and interacting with us like nothing was wrong with her).

The miracles of medicine and the humor you HAVE to see or you'll cry :)
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Wow, quite the experience, MWM!
Christmas carols in the heat, lol!
And ewww, the visual about the brilliiant, but big, 6 language lady washing her privates!
Yes, medications quite often do the trick. They can be truly amazing.
 
Top