71 Comments Posted by bsmarcia

I can't take it anymore....gauging my eyes out right now. Please make it go away......

I thought your pupils became opaque when you die. I know that my dogs did rather quickly when she suddenly died. That womans eyes look normal when I enlarged the picture. I inherited some pictures of relatives of my father from Hungary and one of them is a man in a coffin. It's very weird and creepy.

Would those very nice hospitals be where we take grandma and grandpa when no one wants to be bothered? Yeah, I hear they're REAL nice!

Listen I don't want to get into an argument but I'm just not understanding the uncle story. Some of the things you are discribing just aren't making alot of sense. Was this guy pretty old when he was "released" because if he had the ability to read and write I'm sure it would have been recognized at some point. They all went to school, the older ones probably attended on grounds the younger ones (when I worked there) off grounds. I saw many who were capable read and write. You have discribed this guy as being prfoundly retarded. I'd sure like to know how grandma changed this guy into what sounds like a mildly retarded person. Just curious.

I'm curious as to why grandma didn't take him in after he was born at Pennhurst? Is it safe to assume that his parents were also retarded?

You have to understand that probably a group was taken to the bathroom and open toilets are a neccessity so you can watch everyone. You assume everyone sits there nicely and goes potty. WRONG!

I think it's a heart Lynn. I <3 you.

Yes Suffer the Children was Pennhurst.Its funny I remember watching that when it first appeared on the news and thinking who in their right mind would ever work there? And a few years later their I was. In some respects it was the best place I ever worked and also the worst.

The main reason I chose 3rd shift was there was less supervisory staff breathing down your neck. It got very bad for staff in the closing years. You could not believe the things you could be written up for. Thank god for the union we had . That was the only protection we had.

Sounds like a routine night that I had at Pennhurst, Lynn. That is when I wasn't beating and maiming my charges.

Did these other institutions have lawsuits against them also? I'm sure they must have. How come everyone assumes the worst at Pennhurst? Is it the bits and pieces of documentation floating around out there? Geez its ridiculous. I wish you idiots could talk to many of the parents who had children there and were GRATEFUL for the care that they got. Not every parent at Pennhurst was involved in getting it closed down. The majority didn't want it closed because they were happy with the care their child received.My aunt and I were just having a discussion about group homes the other day. One of her elderly friends was concerned about a possible group home moving across the street. I told her to tell her friend she's better off having a group home with retarded residents than taking a chance on getting a so called normal family.

It wasn't written in the log books it was staff lingo. It was frowned upon by supervisors to even say it. But it was a term that was around for a long time evidently.

If a resident became agitated or disturbed by acting out in some manner what would you call it?At Pennhurst it was" going off the head" Was that term used there?

YES WE DID...OH SORRY I THOUGHT YOU MEANT THE STAFF.

In reality it is probably not really a cloud ,but vapor from the nuclear reactor less than a mile away.