This ain't no Flinstone Age.

What a week! Going to a psych ward is a very intimidating, daunting thing. All 9 of us woke up bright and early (6:30!) to carpool to Waco. It was really cold and rainy, and driving up to the place we were all overwhelmed. I think any building, no matter how beautiful, can be nerve racking in such an uncertain time. We weren't sure what was being held behind those doors.

After much discussion and advice, our instructor finally led us up to the floor we would be working. Immediately after we stepped off the elevator a large man walked up to the nurse's station and yelled about how he didn't get his shot. Our teacher quickly moved us aside and down the hall to dodge the action. By that time we were all wide eyed, I'm sure!

On this floor all of the patients have quite a bit of freedom. They can watch TV in the TV room, sit in the dining area, stay in their rooms, or just walk around. Alot of them just walk around. Our teacher gave us our assignments and introduced us to our patients so that we could set up a time to meet with them. Before our meeting, we had the opportunity to just stand back and watch as they interacted with their fellow patients during lunch. Immediately a fight broke out over some Ensure. Most of them didn't really talk to each other, but they ate their food quickly and turned in their tray. A couple folks hollered, "Welcome to the VA!" And one guy showed me his dentures (apparently they fit really good and he doesn't even need to use the denture glue!) and told me all about how he got one of his teeth knocked out as a kid. Most everyone was really friendly and curious about us. A few thought that we had come to invade or conspire.

After lunchtime I got to meet with my patient. I asked him a question and it became quite apparent that his thought process was not linear at all. He jumped from one topic to the next. He was so nice and friendly, though. He also informed me that he is George W. Bush, Bill & Hillary Clinton are his parents, Obama is his cousin, and he is currently dating Oprah Winfrey. David Letterman does not approve of their relationship. : ) He was not lying, or trying to convince me of anything. He really believed it. You know, if I had heard the effects of his disease in class (which, I haven't yet, because we just started lectures) I don't know if I would have really believed it. But seeing it in real life is, well, crazy. (I have to be careful about saying "crazy" in the hospital. I didn't realize how much my vocabulary is dependent upon it!) He also told me that he ordered a new tricked out Nissan that can fly. I replied, "Really? I have never seen a flying car." To which he declared, "Girl, this ain't no Flinstone Age, this is 2008!" Anyway, he was really dear and full of expression and passion--plus, he's a mighty good dominoes player! It was quite the experience.

I am really surprised at how much I loved it, taking into account how freaked out I was to go in the first place. I don't know if I could actually work there for a long time, though. It could be really frustrating (and sad/depressing) to never see any progress being made. For most of the patients, the medications only stop the disease where it's at and there is no cure. So, they're kind of just stuck. I don't know how I feel about that either. They are on drugs that take away the person's personality and turn them into a zombie-like state, but if they were released back to their homes (if they have one) they would be much worse off. So it seems like there is no winning. However, our professor was telling us that there are some houses that take in the mentally ill (about 5-8 patients). Just ordinary people who want to help. They aren't trained at all. I think that is pretty cool. We need more places like that.

Next week will be exciting, now that we are all feeling more comfortable in our new atmosphere. I'm excited! :D