77 Comments Posted by Pookie,former patient

I worked there,
I don't know who you are, but, you have as hell of a nerve saying we were the worst kids in the state and that diud we forget we were in a mental hospital, and that is why we there. Don't tell me you had to think saftey all the time, that is bullshit, a lot of the staff purposely set kids off cause it was a high to them to throw them down on the cold cement floor pull our arms behind our backs and cause us pain that was totally uncalled for and then throw us in a 2x2 seclusion room and lock the door and leave us in there for hours on end and let us piss all over ourselves. I am sure you were an abuser and you are lying about your position there. And they did not always warn us that they would put us in seclusion, they knew exactly what buttons of ours to push to set us off, you really are a horrible and mean person for saying this kind of stuff, I am sure if one your children were there you wouldn't be saying this stuff, I pray you don't have any children cause I feel really bad for them cause you probably abuse them. We weren't mental, we were kids with problems, but, I guess since you are the adult then you had the right to judge us and til this day you are still judging us. It wasn't our decision to act the way we did, we got set up and you know it. You talked to the staff about us all the time and they cared about us, bullshit, there were only a couple who did, you must be related to William Gaebler, or Thomas Heathwood who ran the place, or maybe you are Thomas Heathwood who lives in Newton,Ma. You drugged us, raped some of us, beat the shit out of some us, and got away with it, so don't you dare stand there and act like we were the problem, no we weren't, yes we did some bad things but, we didn't deserve the treatment we got, thorazine cocktails, shots of god knows what, rip our clothes off if we said we wanted to die or kill ourselves and leather restraint us to the metal bed in the seclusion room on a green rubber mat, and not even cover us up. I don't know how you live with yourself, we got drugged so we would be calm all the time, we got in trouble for every little thing we did, we were fucking kids and did the normal things kids our age did and didn't deserve the shit sandwich that you and the other staff members gave us. No one was in there for murder, so you are lying on that, I know that for a fact, I have been investigating the treatment that we as kids got, why kids were in there and if there were any kids that murdered anyone, they went to a juvinielle detention hall or lock up, not Gaebler, so shut your mouth up cause you are just talking shit. You are a poor excuse for a human being.

Boiler1220
yes there were sick ass people, I don't know how they live with themselves, knowing all the things they did to innocent children, just makes me soooooo mad to think that we could have died in that place and they wouldn't have even cared....

Boiler1220
I do too, it makes me wonder what everyone else went thru, did they have it as bad as us or did they have more priviledges then we did, were they allowed to have visitors, things like that....

John, yes Danny was my boyfriend, he was such a cutie with his blond curly hair, but, he was always getting restrained and I felt so bad, he wasn't treated well there at all. I left before he did and I felt bad to leave him behind and things only got worse for him, he almost died at the hands of Harvey, I will tell him you said hi....Yes some of us were really lucky and came out of there and made a better life for ourselves and some of us just couldn't shake the place and have never been the same....makes me sad....I met the bestfriends there, I will never have friends like I had there....we are all connected for life.....

John, I soooooo remember Anthony, he was a cool kid, he dressed so cool too. Mike had the cool brown feather back shoulder lenght hair and as for Danny I talk to him everyday and saw him a few times in the past couple years. Kim C was my roomate, she was so in love with Justin from the Moody Blues and always carried around their record album. I have tried to turn something good out of something bad, if I didn't then my life would be screwed up.....

Patrick, I am so glad that you are doing so well, I don't know if we brought it on ourselves, I mean we were locked up and some of the staff were really mean, like Jack,Harvey,Joanna and Melanie....Willie and Suzanne were the cool ones....Glad you are successful and own your own business, and I agree about taking what we went thru and turning it into something good. I think socierty didn't know wwhat to do with us and neither did our parents so it was just easier to give us up to the state. We should have a get together, the building is gone now but, it will never be forgotten and I met the best of friends there and will never forget anyone....I will keep in touch...

John,
Yes you are right about Danny's feet, he was so scared to go in that locked shower room, I don't blame him, I was scared too...he is much better now, I talk to him all the time......

Alumni,
I am for sure positive that he did moleste the kids there and so did some of the staff members, sick ass fuckers, excuse the language...

Patrick,
I don't ever remember the plastic retraining bags, and Danny was always getting secluded,and beaten up by the staff members,he actually almost died at the hands of Harvey, it was horrible, I left there and he was still there and that is when he hooked up with Sandy W, she was my bestfriend along with Tricia G, I have been trying to find both of them and I can't, I talk to Sean M ever now and then, he is doing great, Danny is doing well, for all he went thru there I am surpised that he is as good as he is, Tricia and I were also at St Germaine Lawrence School together in Arlington,Ma...Alan was a cool kid, he had brown thick shoulder lenght wavy hair with a small mustache, Sean had the red short hair, Sandy was beautiful, think she was chinese and white, my roomates were Kim C, Maria, a crazy girl and I forget the 4th one, my room was the first gir's room and my bed was the first one on the left hand side.....Renee was my cousin on Ward E, Alex who was on ward E, used to go with Sandy, I was the girl with the big boom box that we used to hang in the halls or tv room and listen to music, the shower room was a 1 stall at the time, it was scary, I hated Harvey,Joanna,Jack, Melody and a couple others, But, loved Wilie and Suzanne...the activities room was great with the Atari and record player, we used to play dodge after school in the gym on my floor around 4pm before dinner. we took nature trail walks to Rocky Meadow and played on the swing set...I met the best of friends there, I hated that place,but, so grateful for the friends I made and I still talk to some of them and even seen a few of them....Karen was on ward E, and she went with Sean M on my ward, I hung around with her for years after we both got out, but,somehow lost touch with her and can't find her. the building is now gone, but, the memories of the hellish place will live on in me forever and I am sure every child who went there, they had a lot of law suits against them and that is why they closed, they say that's not the reason but, it is, they closed in Jan of 1992. After I left I went back there a few times to visit my friends and to go to the Christmas party. They changed how the bathrooms and shower rooms were, instead of it being a 1 stall shower room and locked door, they turned it into a 3 shower room stall and put doors on the bathroom stalls...a lot of sexual abuse went on in there, I remember Sharon who was on my Ward and all the male staff members wanted her and it was said that she was having sex with Jack, so I don't know if he was raping her but, in that place you never know. Anyway, I could go on and on, but, I am sure no one wants to rehash the horribleness....

Partick,
wow, Patrick, I know you, you were on my ward, I was Michelle and used to go out with Danny, I was on Ward D, around the same time you were there....I believe you shared a room with Alan and I can't remember the other 2 boys in the room with you, I think Anthony was one, and Mike was another, but, not sure, Danny, Sean and 2 otheres were in the boys 1st room on the right had side, the boys 2nd room was next to the boys bathroom....I remember the staff, Harvey, such an asshole, Melody with the hook hand, Joanna who had a huge wart on her face,Jack, who was so tall and big and was mean to us kids, Willie and Suzanne, they were the nice ones, my boyfriend was always getting locked down, the place was awful....I hope you are doing well in your life and that everything is going well for you as well...

Wow, u guys were lucky to get to go roller skating at wal-lex , when I was there, they didn't do that, we would be allowed to earn off ground priviledges and take a walk to the waverly oaks park down the street, but, we never did anything more than that, we would go out back for nature trail walks to Rocky Meadow where there was a swing set & til this day, that swingset is still there...

Boiler1220,
I just wanted to say thank you for being you, you are truely a great guy,....I can't believe they took the building down, can't wait for all the snow to melt so I can what the place looks like....

Boiler1220,
hello there my friend, yes, I know I made a mistake with the name and where I put it, thanks for letting me, I am such an ass, I keep screwing up on here, and yes Angela does have the best husband which is you, but, I too have the best husband, you are just a hoot and a half...miss you my friend...

Ann Marie Narreau,
Hello there, my name is Michelle Woods-Godfroy, I was there from 82-84 and on Ward D, what years were you there? The place did suck and yes they did give us thorazine, benadryl and something else to keep us calm, I think it was valium. They did treat us like shit, there were a couple of staff members that I liked, they were Willy and Suzanne, they actually did like us kids,but, the rest of them were really mean and abused their power. I hope they all rott in hell...

Joseph Pimental, I have pictures of Gaebler on my facebook if you want to see them you have to add me as a friend, my name is Michelle Woods-Godfroy, I was at Gaebler from 82-84 and on Ward D, it was a nightmare to say the least, but, I did try to joke a lot to stop from being so scared, I met the best of friends there and promised myself that I would come out of there and make something of myself since the rest of the world had written me off including my mother, I didn't have a father, my mother was raped and kept me, I do have a stepfather now. I am happily married with 2 beautiful girls, I have the most loving caring husband in the world and I have had a hard life but, I am standing tall and never let them get the best of me....I hope that you are doing well, and sorry that you have such a bad memory of that place that it went with you wherever you went. The building is now gone, it was demolished a couple months ago, I live in Waltham and have ever since I was there and I took as many pictures and video's that I could during the process of it being taken down which is on my facebook. Boiler1220 is an amazing guy, he is sweet, funny and so good to be around, so glad that I met him, we should all get together sometime...