Pennhurst Part II

My knowledge and thoughts about Pennhurst were developed from a number of sources. My wife was an aide at Pennhurst for over 17 years.  I would often talk with her when she came home about her daily experiences at work. It was almost like therapy as she would go on and on about her day at Pennhurst.  The mental stress from this type of work was something that you took with you when you came home.  A neighbor who I also spoke with worked there and always had a Pennhurst story for me.   In fact, in the early 70s, I was hired and worked as an aide at Pennhurst for two weeks.

I had been working at Firestone Tire & Rubber as a factory worker for 10 years when I decided I had had enough factory work to last a lifetime. I applied to and was hired at Pennhurst. I did not quit my factory job but took vacation time to start my new job at Pennhurst.  I lasted only two weeks before going back to Firestone.  I quit after two weeks and it is for sure that I wasn't the only one to bail after a short time on the job.

I am not ashamed that I could not do this kind of work.  It takes a special kind of person to do this job and I soon recognized I was not that person.  I make no apologies for my decision but wish others who faced that same situation had an opportunity to walk away.

Firestone closed in 1980 and it was ironic that 12 years later I would become a state worker.  I was called into our office and offered the chance to buy back my time from the two weeks I had worked at Pennhurst.  I had almost forgotten about it.  I served as a caseworker for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until I retired. I had never imagined when I left Pennhurst that I would ever return to
work as a state employee in any capacity.

When my wife started working at Pennhurst I found it amazing that two or three aides would be overseeing a ward housing 40 plus patients and be expected to be in total control of the entire group.  Most of these patients came out of a home with normal parents, brothers and sisters, and in many cases were sent to Pennhurst because the family was unable or unwilling to cope with the special needs child within their own home.  Now if you place a substantial number of
these patients together in a large room with just a couple of people to control
the activity, what might you expect?  If you are a dreamer you can close your eyes and sing a chorus of "Everything is Beautiful" but in the real world that is not the case. 

My wife often talked about her boys. Now you have to realize that these were all
male clients of different ages.  One of her boys was Harry.  Harry was a man in
his 70s who had come to Pennhurst as a teenager.  Harry, along with his cousin, forged one of his mother's checks and bought a car.  These boys didn’t even make it out of Philadelphia before they were apprehended.  Harry, a juvenile, was sent to Pennhurst and his cousin went to jail.  When talking with Harry he explained that his cousin had served a year in prison and was released. Harry spent the better part of his life in Pennhurst. He said they had taken good care of him at Pennhurst and even taught him a trade but they didn't release him until he was in his seventies. He was sent off to a nursing home where he died....  Harry was a tailor and a good one to be sure.  He could have worked at any shop on the outside but never got the chance.  The story is true. It happened and it is
sad.  It was wrong and it is not particularly pleasant for me when I think about it.  There were other stories like Harry’s but far more stories that were happy and reflected the good things at Pennhurst. There were hundreds of caring aides and other workers whose dedication and efforts get lost in the dialog of what was happening at Pennhurst. 

I remember many of the good things too. It is funny though because as time goes on we often remember the wrongs that occurred along the way.   It is stories like Harry’s that people want to hear and read about.

Recently a young high school senior come into our local museum and asked about
Pennhurst. We have had several students stop by this past year.  It is amazing the interest that has been generated by the advertising for the Asylum and the related ghost stories circulating on TV and the internet.  She had heard about the horrible rooms where they pulled out the patients teeth.  She saw one on TV.  They played a screamimg soundtrack and showed a vintage dentist chair in a room full of cobwebs and decay. It was a classic horror scene to be sure.  Filmed at Pennhurst especially for the TV program.

I told her that although I was not aware of this practice (and if it ever happened it was before my time) but the idea did not strike me as totally out of line.  If someone is trying to bite everyine it could have been considered. I don't know what the alternative action might be.  I know I had seen many clients wearing
football helmets and when I questioned this I was told that they had a tendancy
to throw fits or have seizures where they would bang their heads into the wall
repeatedly. The helmets seemed crude but were necessary to protect them from
themselves. 

I know when I had my introductory tour of Pennhurst I saw a patient being
escorted by an aide.  Right in front of me the patient swooped up a cigarette butt that was on the ground and popped it into his mouth.  He just swallowed
it.  I said "did you see that?" and was told - "Oh yes, you have to be careful with John as he eats cigarettes whenever he finds them." 

There are many types of protection. Protection for patient, for the caregivers and
also in general for the public at large. This third category is one that I have a hard time figuring out.  Let me give you an example from something I
experienced.

In the early seventies when our children were in grade school I purchased tickets
to take our family to the circus.  The Moscow Circus was coming to Philadelphia and appearing at the Spectrum for one week. I bought the best seats I could find for an afternoon show. They were center ring seats in row 5, just four rows from the main show.  I worked the midnight shift and came home from work as excited about the trip as my kids.  We went down early and got a good parking space.  We went into the show early and found our seats, We purchased souvenirs and snacks and remarked at what good seats we had.  I was a bit surprized as it was
only 5 minutes before showtime and the four rows in front of us remained empty.
It was at that moment when I saw the procession. There was a bus load of
mentally challenged (handicapped?) children making there way down to the
section in front of us.  Some were wearing helmets. They all seemed to have balloons and noise makers. They were making noise and standing most of the time. They were yelling and clapping in a random pattern. The young girls who accompanied them smiled at me and shrugged.  I understood immediately that
the girls were slighlty embarrassed at the way their group was behaving and
totally unable to do anything. 

I know we left the show early that afternoon. We left trying not to draw any attention to ourselves and I am sure no one noticed the four empty seats.  I
have spent years trying to come up with an answer to this situation and you
know what I finally figured out.  There is no answer.  You will always find
someone who has the answer and is 100 percent sure of their position.  But there is no answer!

To be continued........................

WCB