So, again, continuing where I left off with the last post: So after realizing that they really weren’t going to give me my belongings and let me leave, or allow me to call law enforcement or 911, I started saying that what’s happening is false imprisonment. While in disbelief, thinking about how these people can’t be serious, I was also thinking about how these people can’t be that unaware of how illegal this is. Luckily, I know about false imprisonment, but even if I didn’t, I at least know that people have rights and the freedom to speak freely and move freely; that is at the very essence of American values. Lately, I think that people around me have been blinded by emotion driven by their ability to cyberstalk me which is leading to all this insanity.
So, I take a seat and continue to write notes and start thinking about what I should do next. I can’t really escape, the door is locked and it would be very difficult for me to sneak out the door as someone passes through; I wasn’t even going to try or waste my energy, and what’s more, it’s definitely the wrong thing to do, and even if I did successfully sneak out, I’m in pajamas without my wallet or cell phone. So at this point, I think people are starting to stress out with the words that I’m saying: “negligence” “medical malpractice” “falsely admitted” “being held against my will” “false imprisonment.” I realize now that these people must have searched the Internet for content regarding psych wards and false imprisonment, because I searched the Internet a day or two ago, and with the words and phrases they were using convinces me they read a couple of the articles I found. So I’m there in the lobby seated and writing and my assigned first one-to-one staff member sits across from me, and we start our one-to-one. He tells me that since I want to leave, I’m now on an involuntary status; this makes no sense to me and I take it as a bunch of malarkey. He says something about “72 hours” and says “that’s the law.” I tell him that I want to file a grievance, because that’s my right. He says “grievance?” Then I say, “see, you don’t even know what a grievance is,” and I lead him to the Patient’s Rights poster. I forget what happens after that, but according to my notes, he tells me “the doctors are handling it.”
So I then decide that’s my next move, to file a grievance. The Patient’s Rights poster only shows the names of the agencies to call to file a complaint, and then the number to another agency if the grievance isn’t properly addressed. I ask them if they could help me facilitate a grievance and I also ask to call that one number listed. They tell me that they will have me speak with the customer service representative, so I waited to speak with this person. I also asked if I can speak with the hospital legal department, if there was one, and they told me to speak with the customer service representative. Eventually sometime during my stay, I called that grievance phone number, but it was only a voice recording that answered, which basically said how to go about filing a grievance, which I have yet to do and will soon. As I’m waiting for the customer service representative, I see one of the doctors from the ER, who was the one who told me that the doctors may still have some questions, but they suggest to stay a couple of nights at the hospital. I say “excuse me,” and one of the things I asked this ER doctor is if the wheelchair guy and my teacher were wrong when answering “no” to my question of whether I had a choice to stay at the hospital or not. He didn’t say yes or no, but excused himself; he seemed a little stressed. So while still waiting for the customer service representative, which took about an hour and a half, I see the doctors leave, and they all seem a bit uncomfortable. Probably because they couldn’t tell me why I was admitted based on their medical expertise; concern is not a medical condition.
So I meet with the customer service representative and tell her the same story that I’ve repeated many times. I also tell her that I want to leave ASAP, that I’m being held against my will as of 1000, that this is false imprisonment, that I wanted to call law enforcement and then 911 but wasn’t allowed to, that I requested to be given my belongings and to leave and both requests were denied, that I asked why I was admitted and why I can’t be discharge and both questions weren’t answered, and that I was lied to in the ER. I also tell her that I need something in writing that says they have the legal authority to keep me there; I was never given any legal literature, and I have yet to research this. She tells me she will help me with a grievance and would get me the number to the legal department. Another hour and a half after the start of our first discussion, the customer service representative brings three pieces of paper: one is a full sheet for a customer service survey, one is another full sheet with the Patient’s Rights, and the last is a smaller piece of scrap paper which has a couple of numbers to the legal department, and she took the time to box in the phone numbers with two rectangles, one yellow and one blue. There was a lot on my mind, so I forget to ask about filing a grievance and about the legal authority they have to keep me there. I waste no time to fill out the customer service survey; here’s what I write:
Wasn’t aware that I was being sent to ER for suicide. I cooperated. Spoke with medical hospital personnel in ER. While waiting on doctors for a conclusive solution, decided I did not want to stay. Doctors did not return. Was lied to and told I could not say no and did not have a choice by hospital personnel with wheelchair and the teacher. Staff have been insincere and disrespectful, said I was disappointed with behavior of staff. At 1000 04NOV20, said I wanted my belongings and wanted to leave. As of that time I am considering myself being held against my will; false imprisonment. Wasn’t allowed to call law enforcement or 911. Doctors couldn’t tell me a medical reason why I was admitted.
After being there for more than a week, the customer service survey was never retrieved. When I was done with the survey, I asked a staff member where do I submit the survey, and he tells me I can hold on to it, and it seems like he’s also trying to tell me that the survey means nothing. So I hold on to it, and even a couple of days later when I see the customer service representative, I don’t mention it and don’t approach her because I wanted to see if she would ask me for it and she never did; I still have it with me.
So after the survey, the next thing for me to do was call the legal department with the phone numbers I was given. I had to wait for the phone to be available. Once the phone was available, and ready to call the legal department, I’m told that one of the doctors wants to speak with me. So I sit down with the doctor, and this person seems like a nice person, just like the customer service representative, and it’s unfortunate that they were put in this stressful situation. Whoever thought of this idea of deceitfully admitting me to a psych ward to contain me, or whatever, really didn’t think things through. At this point, I know I’m stressing people out with the words that I’m using and how I’m using the resources I have the best that I can to leave; I was still being respectful and behaving calmly. I was hoping they would just let me go, but I guess the damage was already done, and they didn’t know how to act on the situation. Should they let me go? Should they keep me there? I think they started to panic and things started to get really messy. I can’t recall exactly how our conversation started, but the doctor ends up telling me that I’m being diagnosed with schizophrenia. I reply saying “you’ve got to be joking.” How did I go from writing a quality of life survey, to being taken to the ER for suicide when I understood I was going to speak with a counselor regarding the hazing, to being falsely admitted to a psych ward out of false concerns with no medical diagnosis, not even a mention of suicide, to being told that I’m being diagnosed with schizophrenia!? I was in disbelief, again! Then I started saying words like “negligence,” “medical malpractice,” and “false diagnosis.” Then the doctor explains to me how I was on a voluntary status, but now I’m on an involuntary status because I said I was no longer cooperating. I explain, that yeah, I was no longer cooperating because I was falsely admitted and they couldn’t tell me a medical reason why I was admitted, so I wanted to leave, and I have the right to refuse treatment, and I shouldn’t even be there to begin with, and I still didn’t want to be there, and I still wanted to leave. The whole voluntary/involuntary status didn’t make sense to me. I think the doctor even said that I could still go back to a voluntary status if I cooperated. In hindsight, I can see that the doctor just wanted me to panic, which was spiteful and unprofessional. I recall now that I said it didn’t matter to me whether I’m on an involuntary or voluntary status, that they could write down whatever they want at this point. Then I think the doctor said that it’ll look bad on future paperwork if I’m on involuntary status, and then I said, as far as I’m concerned, according to future paperwork, I was never there because I should have never been taken to the ER or admitted to the psych ward. Then the doctor jokingly recommended not to falsify documentation, and I should have said to take their own advice, but I just agreed, because what documentation is going to ask me if I was ever deceivingly taken to the ER or falsely admitted to a psych ward. So I didn’t really let that bother me. I recall I also said that I didn’t appreciate being threatened. I also recall the doctor said something about the DOD, which also didn’t make too much sense to me, but I think the reason the doctor said this to me was to make fun of me for getting a D in college. We were sitting at the same exact table where I was talking with my first one-to-one of the day and I told the staff member that he didn’t even know what a grievance was. And yeah, I did get a D in college, mostly because I was reluctant to buy a laptop for a programming class; genius. Then I bought a laptop and retook the class and got a C; genius. Then I paid $25,000 and spent two years studying computer science and graduated with a good GPA; WHAT! WHAT! Now the university is holding my transcript under false imprisonment… but I’ll save that story for a different blog post.
To be continued…