Dave Crashed Into the Cuckoo’s Nest, Part IV
A Week Fighting to Get Out of the Mad House: An Epic Poem in 7 Installments
[Typed the mornings of September 20-21, 2022 from notes written in crayon the previous week while on an involuntary hold at the psych ward at Pacific Grove Hospital in Riverside, California after a ketamine infusion therapy to treat the PTSD went bad, leaving the Poet more suicidal and self-hating than before it began, prompting the doctor to insist on a “5150” 72-hour hold.]
Check out parts I, II, and III here:
Friday
6:44 AM
Last night my roommate Shawn who is detoxing was not well.
I went and got the nurse for him and couselled him. I gave him my empty journal and told him writing his feelings might help.
I felt his pain. I feel all the pain around me.
7:08 AM
My father refuses to support my appeal.
He signs on to the lie that I am having hallucinations.
I want to leave the family again.
A Swindle no more
8:26 AM
Ear plugs in and isolating myself in a quiet room.
My appeal is in an hour and a half.
9:15 AM
[Prazosin / minipress – written in pen by psychiatrist’s assistant, a drug recommendation]
Written by Cade, Nurse RN and assistant to Dr. Gandotra.
Recommends for the nightmares.
Had a good talk with him.
Seems sympathetic.
David Lynch’s Catching the Big Fish on transcendental meditation.
Switched to reading that when the Thorazine seemed to hit.
2:27 PM
My appeal was denied.
The nurse chose to go with the lie that I am hallucinating even though I refuted it. The doc can choose to release me anytime. Going to try calling Mike now.
“The pro-market agenda of the libertarians is by no means identical with the pro-business agenda of the Republicans.” – M. Lind, page 79, Up from Conservatism
After 5:00 PM
Dinner Now.
Talking with Sally and she said this place has a lot of terrible reviews online.
Going to ask Jon Bishop to look into this place some.
Investigative Journalism…
*****
Post-It Note:
951 275 8400
General #
I called patient advocacy
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The next day’s Installment will be published tomorrow. Listen to Dave talk about his experience here in Wednesday’s podcast: