Mental in a Mental Hospital.

Cognition skills may be a problem for me. Good thing to realize the night before you are going to do fieldwork at a mental hospital.
Last night I wanted to order a cinnamon roll...I was thinking " something sweet" along with "cinnamon roll" in my head, but instead "sweet potato" came out of my mouth. WOW. Then, in the process of asking for a refill, I walked out the door with my drink and not my cinnamon roll. Twenty minutes later while discussing breakfast with Stacy, I realized what I had done. Good thing she lives right behind the cafe!
I stayed the night with Stacy so I didn't have to get up so early this morning. Instead of pajama bottoms, I brought the top. I forgot my eyeshadow.
I think that covers it all...but then again...if I have a cognition issue then maybe it doesn't cover it all...
Ok, Ok, I don't have one.
First, I'd like to say that the last time I was in a mental hospital was also 9-11-01...not trying to make light of it, but it did bring back some memories from that day.
Now to the mental hospital. It was the oldest-continuous running mental hospital in the U.S. I believe it was 195 or 185 (again...???) years that they just celebrated! The OT took us through the history and had us look through photo albums from way back. What a long way we have come in treating people! Some of the pictures were taken during a shock treatment. Some were of patients literally tied in straight jackets--no pants-- to a chair that had a hole and a bucket under it so they didn't have to mess with them. We took a tour of the entire hospital including the basement where they use to keep patients. She said at one point the hospital was so desperate for places to keep patients that patients were shackled to the walls! This definitely fits with the history of OT we have been studying in class.
It is really sad that the state has let so much of the campus run down. One of the places we got to see was the old ball room. They used to host "Lunatic Balls" to raise money for the hospital. Now the ball room is literally falling apart. There are holes in the ceiling, the wood is rotted. You could tell it was once beautiful.
We really only got to see patients for about an hour today. Next week we should be able to observe more treatment sessions and group sessions. Should be interesting!

And this story is for a certain person reading that I know will appreciate it :)
The other girl that car pooled with us and went to (again I forgot the name) the big hospital by UK...well she had a less enjoyable day. Long story short... Burn patient/amputee + warm room + protective gown/gloves/mask....=passing out in the hall, hitting head on the wall and being caught by a passerby before hitting the floor! I felt so bad for her when she told us what happened. So, this seems to be a normal occurrence :)

Alright, bedtime! 5:00 was waaaaaaaaay to early this morning!