#6 THE NIGHT THE POWER WENT OUT
“One of my more amusing stories was a somewhat voluntary commitment. I met a friend for lunch who noticed I was struggling with my eating because of my ED. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but she was concerned, so she talked me into going to my psychologist. She was busy and told me to go to the General Hospital. My friend called my girlfriend because she had to teach. My girlfriend and I walk up to the general. I, of course, think all this extra fuss and exercise is not worth it. I just was overstimulated and wanted to eat slowly and in a dark and quiet setting!
We get to the Hospital and I am triaged and we wait for 3 or 4 hours in the waiting room. My girlfriend was talking with another woman in the waiting room and failed to hear my name called. I heard it. I eventually got to the psych doctor but it was maybe 5 mins so he forgot who he had been looking for. At this point, I decide to leave the hospital waiting room. I was ready for dinner. My girlfriend physically assaulted me, stopping me in my tracks and ripping my winter coat. The french guards came and she tells them what's what and they don't listen to me. I get frustrated and throw my cardboard bowl they gave me in case I vomited at them (it was still unused). They get very upset.
I have to be re-triaged. At this point, my heart was racing, and they decided I needed an Electrocardiogram. I really wasn't into it. When they left me alone to get into a gown, I decided to reboot my phone. See it was rooted and I was on the hospital's secure network because I was a student there.
{NB: Rooting is the process of allowing a smartphone to attain remote control over other subsystems - AA}
This made me happy in the waiting room, checking email and whatnot. Anyway, I decide to reboot the phone, but it had the rooting software in it. I'm not that great with computers, I like to dabble, and probably a bit paranoid. But doing this made the hospital's power go off, so they were couldn't take my EKG, which I didn't want. I know it's not as extreme as an ECT, but I think I have a little electromagnetic hypersensitivity, and I'm just not that into it.
So the power was off, and I was actually in a nicer place to be. The waitroom and staff room were sort of between my nice private little room where I was waiting for the EKG. The power went back on in an hour and a half. And I truly regret anything I may have done to postpone other patients' care, it's difficult to say if it was a coincidence or not.
After all that I get into the special psych area. I am told to change and store my things in a locker. One male nurse told me to make myself at home, so I took it literally and walked out naked. Thank God he didn't alert the other staff, because I'm pretty sure they'd judge me harshly for that. They did eventually feed me, thank goodness.
They eventually released me. I had been telling my girlfriend the whole time to go home and how I didn't want her there, and I wish the hospital had respected me more. Anyway, like most of the times I've been there they have taken my partner's word over mine, but I eventually get released maybe around 8 or 9, got there around 2pm. As soon as I am released I have to start running, because she was following me. She knew where I lived, but I suppose that finally gave her the message. The mania itself, if one can call it that, started because she came over to use my internet, which she needs for her job, but refused to leave everytime I asked for about 4 days. I just can't reason with crying people.
Anyway, I've been a few other times, and have managed to convince them of my compliance to their medicine, and that time I don't think I was forced to take medicine. It's a terrible place to be when you are underweight. The way I've managed to stay in Emergency and get fed is by crying and telling the nurses I am underweight and really need food and water. And just for clarity, I am a woman who had a girlfriend. Thanks for reading and to everyone else who has or will submit their stories.”