Story by Jim Smith. Art by Raoul Pascual
The Day of Wrath
The next evening, Laura noticed I was quietly distracted and appeared to be in another world of torment and emotional pain. I explained it was obvious, and then called each of her siblings from Laura’s phone to ask them if it was normal for a husband to be upset by such a malicious act of emotional violence by a brother-in-law.
Delila had spoken to my clinical psychiatrist the afternoon before, and the doctor agreed with me: How could any husband not be upset when an out-of-control brother-in-law like Joshua was posting threatening images of himself, as the Devil on his wife’s Facebook page?
As Laura watched and listened on speaker phone, I asked each of all four siblings and two other in-laws to assure Laura that I was not delusional. Wouldn’t they be outraged if Joshua posted threatening photographs on their own spouses’ FB pages?
Each one skirted the question. and insisted I should immediately be taken to the Emergency Room. I was stunned. They chose protecting the honor of the narcissistic brother-in-law, Joshua, over the honor of Laura, their own sister.
Laura agreed; I must go to the ER.
Laura was concerned that I was having was a nervous breakdown and said it was most important for me to have an analysis by psychiatrists and psychologists to determine if I was dangerously facing insanity. At the same time, I was also concerned that she was having an emotional breakdown, too. I wanted her to have a session with them as well.
So, to prove a point, I went willingly and sat in solitary confinement and spoke to two psychologists and two psychiatrists at Kaiser Hospital. All four of the doctors said my rage was a normal reaction when someone posts something so repellent on a loved ones’ FB page. The interviews were recorded for posterity with a security guard looking on.
This was good for my attorney; my testimony was now legally reported. When I made my one phone call to him, he immediately said he would pay out of pocket for a high-tech security system, a 24/7 guard, and contact associate lawyers in Washington State. It was then, he realized what a narcissist Joshua really is. And, like most narcissist, he is a wounded bully, and would be too much of a coward to act on it in person. ”Leave it alone,” he said; “forget about this guy. Never contact him again.”
It was essential, though, for Laura to have her own session with the professionals. The problem, though, was that Laura left the hospital while her mobile phone was off. The pain in her spine was too much and she needed to rest, so she was unable to corroborate my testimony.
What it was like: 12 hours in solitary confinement
I was alone in a room with a wash basin and bed. The fourth wall was of glass, with a security guard watching over me. So, I had plenty of time to lay on my back and stare up the ceiling. The matter at hand: why exactly did I end up here, when I was told that I’d simply be given a few blood samples, then an interview with a psychiatrist? The answer was obvious, I might be a threat to someone or to myself. Though this thought was absurd, apparently all bases must be covered to avoid a lawsuit if it was determined that I really was batty.
Later, it was easy to meditate and pray. I was able to memorize a few new articles to eventually write, figure out the reason for past concerns and problems; the rest of my time I exercised with the security guard watching.
When dusk fell, the doctor approached me and said that I must spend the night, but there were no open beds at the hospital. I knew Kaiser hospital was known to be thrifty, in fact, I was once only given a sandwich, a banana and water to drink in my 12 hours in the joint.
Two ambulance drivers arrived, positioned me onto a stretcher and away we went to a different hospital in downtown Los Angeles. I asked the name, but they remained silent, only that it was located on College Street. I remembered my wife, then a new family nurse practitioner in the mid-1990s, did volunteer work at a Mental Hospital at that address, training nurses how to appropriately evaluate the physical symptoms of new patients and (most importantly) to treat them with kindness and respect.
When I would drive her to and from the hospital, I knew the name Mental Hospital was a place that I would never want to be incarcerated.
Stay tuned for Part 3: The Kaiser Mental Hospital
