24 Comments Posted by Pookie, Former Patient

That last message wasn't from I Worked There, sorry, it was from me to I Worked There.....

Patrick
My cousin Renee was on Ward E. I remember a Patrick, I just don't remember what you look like, sorry. Sandy, Tricia, Mike, Sean were all on my ward which was D. I remember the place like it was yesterday as well, creepy to say the least, but, I will say this, Willy and Suzanne were the nicest staff members on my ward. Do you remember a kid named Danny? he was on my ward, I talk to a few people from there and I seen a few of them as well. the building is now down, I took a lot of pics of the inside and out and videos, if you want to see them friend me on facebook that is where they are....I hope you are doing well, sorry you had to endure that kind of shit as well like us, but, I think it made me a better and stronger person......

P
you are very welcome, it's hard for anyone to understand how we feel and what we went thru unless they were there and experienced hands on like us.....

P.
I am so sorry to hear of your terrible treatments at different hospitals, Gaebler really was hell to say the least, a lot of mental,verbal and physical abusive as well as sexual abusive went on there. I understand everything you say about how you feel and not be able to be touched, When you go thru something that horrific it's hard to trust anyone, even your family and loved ones, it must certainly changes the person you are, it's not your fault, it's the Dept of Mental Healths fault and them thinking they had the right to abuse us they way they did and drug us as well. I hop e that someday you will be able to come to terms with all that has happened to you so you can show the world and everyone who counted you out that you are better than they say you are and they can kiss your ass......If you ever want to talk, I do have a facebook account, you just have to friend request me, my name is Michelle D.Woods and I also have pictures and videos of Gaebler on my fb.....

Hello, I had a kid named Danny on my ward, it wad Ward D, what years was your brother there? maybe I can help you understand why he was there if it's the same Danny that I know and that I still know to this day....I am sorry that you had such a horrible experience there, I did too, we all did, it was a horrible place for kids to say the least, as for the girls sex jokes, I never heard any but, I do know that girls were being raped there by the male staff members, it was very easy to do since they had all the hidden rooms and keys and we had to trust them....I hope someday you can overcome your anger and be able to be happy...Do not let that place and it's staff members ruin you, ruin the person that you are and can be, if you do that, then that means the won the war and I know you don't want that. I know it's hard as hell to try and put your life together after being in such a horrible, physically abusive and mentally abusive place but, you can do it, you just have to tell yourself that you are worth it and JG you are worth it, if you ever want to talk look me up on facebook my name is Michelle Woods-Godfroy....



Sorry the above message was for JG, NOT FROM JG, I SCREWED UP THE NAME SLOT, SORRY JG....

John,
You are absolutely right, we do all have a bond, no one can take that away from us, the bestfriends I ever had were from there...

Boiler1220,
Hello my dear friend, so happy that we met and hung out a few times, you are right at the time we didn't matter, but, it's high time that we make the people who did this to us pay for their crimes and let the world know just what kind of dept of mental heath system we have and then maybe parents will think twice about giving their children away to the state. It makes me wonder, when they were children how were they treated? I don't think I will ever have closure completely, to much happened to us in there to have that kind of closure, but, we are better people and we proved to the world that we are worthy and that we do matter and that they didn't break us. life is too short and so precuous and so glad that you are now my friend and that you are doing well....

Mr.Jody Mcmillian,
Hello there, I was a patient there from 82-84 and I was on Ward D, the staff members at the time were, Jack,Melody,Joanna, Harvey, Willie,Suzanne, Elaine and I can't remember the other ones, but, I so remember Tom Heathwood, he thought he was the cats ass, cause he was the head of the place and he really made us kids out to be monster, he would give the staff, and dr's orders on what to give us for meds and how to treat us, he was a scumbag, and I so wish I could find him and treat him the way we were treated. We were not monsters, we were children, and the reason some of us had problems was because our parents were screwed up, but, it's so much easier for our parents to just blame us then themselves and give us away cause it was to hard for them to deal with us. I am so sorry that you have had such a horrible life, I can't imagine starting at the age of 17yrs old and needing a pacemaker, that is horrible and now you have to have your 8th one put in, that is terrible, but, I am glad that you are still alive. I am so so so sorry that you had to raise yourself, that is terrible, what the hell is wrong with your parents? sorry to say that, but, you were just a child. My mother is actually the one who called the dept of mental health on me, and signed me away to the state from the age of 11yrs old-16yrs old when she got custody of me back and I came home to live , I was only home for just about 3yrs before I moved out a month after I turned 18yrs old and I never moved back home and now I am 41yrs old, have a wonderful husband and 2 children, 2 daugghters, one ijust turned 17yrs old & the other one is 6yrs old, I have had a tough life but, I promised myself that I would be the best person I could be and not let people cut me down and tell me the kind of person they think I am. For the longest time I hated my mother for putting me in Gaebler, but, I am older now and life is to short for hate, I am now extremely close with my mother and we see each other all the time, she actually lives a couple streets over from me. It took a long time for me to forgive my mother, I got my records and confronted her with them and she had no choice but, to tell me thet truth. As, for the building being gone, it's a shame, they should have put it to good use, like a childrens center, like a day center for troubled kids and have us patients be the staff because we would have known exactly how to handle them and treat them, medicince makes things worse, I do not believe that it helps at all. I wish you the best with your pacemaker going in for the 8th time, and hope that you are doing well and that your life is so much better. Allwe can do is prove to society that we are not as bad as we were made out to be, we are human, and humans make mistakes, some worse than others, but, that doesn't mean that us kids needed to be locked up, drugged, secluded, tied to a bed naked, ;locked int he shower alone, locked int he bathroom, and locked in the building, we shouldn't have had to earn priveledges to go outside, even then, you were still in a locked fench area, unless you were lucky to go get outside priveledges to go on the nature trail walks to Rocky Meadow, which by the way is still there, my husband and I go there every week,, and we go to the chrildren's cemetery. I have tons of pictures of Gaebler, inside and out and vieos, if you want to see them request me on facebook Michelle Woods-Godfroy. I hope you have a good day...

John,
You are right, the demise of the building being taken down doesn't change what happened in there, but, for some reason the dept of mental health feels that with the building and a good portion of the records being gone, that they covered their tracks of the abuse that we incured in Gaebler, but, you can't hide what went on in there, if enough patients come forward we can do something about this...

Belmonster,
Hello again, trust me when I tell you, they are going to put up condos, I know this for a fact, as for the Fernald, they will probably sell it to Gann Academy again, cause they want more space, I know alot of what goes on in Waltham because I have lived here since I was 11yrs old and my girls are in the Waltham public school system, one is at Plympton and in Kindergarten and the other one started in kindergarten at the Plymptom,then went to the McDevitt & now is a Junior at the High School, I do get all the notices on buildings and house being put up, gone to the meetings about the congestion and adding more condos and houses in waltham and the zoning board meetings, so yes, I know alot. I am not saying they will put them up anytime soon, but, trust me, that is what is going to go up there....Anyway, not to sound rude, but, who are you? where you ever a patient at Gaebler?

Estepani Lerran,
If you want you can request me on facebook and see my pictures and videos of Gaebler, my name is Michelle Woods Godfroy

Mr Death,
I was a patient there from 5284 and on Ward D, and I live in Waltham, Mass and have since I was 11yrs old when I went there, and I can tell you that yes the building is gone, I have pictures of it on my facebook of you want to see them, the City of Waltham paid Testa Corp to take the building down because of the high levels of asbestos and lead paint, they did want to put it to good use like a childrens center but, it was going to cost way to much, they will eventually build on that property land, and it will most likely be condos. I have 2 girls in the Waltham school system and know everything that just about that goes on in the city. Gaebler was a sad place for us kids to be in, the abuse we endured was unbearable and no kid should have ever had to go thru that kind of abuse, I am appalled that the dept of mental health thought this was a good place for chldren, they actually encouraged the abuse, sick sick sick people. I am on facebook if you want to see the picutes, Michelle Woods-Godfroy and request to be my friend. I also have videos of the place, and I have been at Gaebler with Boiler1220 quite a few times, inside and out and watched he demised of the building be taken down, and somehow I thought if the building was gone, I would have clousure, but, that's not the case, I feel like a part of me is gone with that building and wish they didn't take it down, they should have paid the money and done something good with it for children like they were going to so us kids that were patients there could see that we weren't forgetten and that we did actually matter.

Boiler,
you are so my friend I wish I had when I was growing up, we could have taken on the world,,,,,but, it's never to late......

Boiler my friend,
you sound crazy? Never, you are probably right, I do think they drugged the kids so they could see how they could conttol them into doing whatever they wanted, it was all about control, and as for the dentist, I know I never went to the dentist when I was there, you are not crazy. well, maybe to me cause I know you and you are such a nice guy, but, for real in this world, by no means are you crazy....

Belmonster,
Hello there and good morning, Yes, you actually are tresspassing the second u step on the grounds, my husband and I were at the bottom of the hill as you enter and the police told us were tresspassing and could have us arrested and my van impounded, but, I got lucky since they looked my name and my husbands name up and we didn't have a criminal record or even any tickets or accidents, so he let us go, I used the excuse I was just turning around to go down the street the opposite way I came.....I do have mixed feelings, I think they should have done something good with the place, I don't think taking it down was the thing to do, I think they should have made a children's center out of it where kids who do have problems can go there and talk to people and other kids but, not in a locked environment, like a day center or something like that and also that kids who were patients be the ones to run the place cause we would know exactly how to deal with trouble kids and teens and know what to say to them and help them and not cut them down, drug them and lock them up,,,,If the city of Waltham who only aquired the building in 2005 thought by taking it down it would hide what went on in their, they are sadly mistaken, I will get my voice heard on that, you can't hide that kind of abuse and crap, eventually I will find someone to listen to me, and the Dept of Mental Health will get in trouble, they said they called it for budget cut reasons, that's not what happened, my boyfriend got the living shit kicked out of him in hiis sleep by 2 sraff members to the point where he ended up in the hospital and almost died and his parents took the place and staff to court and they won and he never had to go back there again, one of the staff members actually called his parents and said you need to get here something happened to your son, then they changed all their policies, how you took showers and went to the bathrrom and added more outside activites and they never secluded a child again, they had a lot of lawsuits against them and I know some of them are probably still pending, it was a horrible place to grow up in as a child......