2,712 Comments for Fuller State School and Hospital

Sad, my husband spent the first two years of his life in a hospital in a crib like that... how cold and comfortless.

Ok, my husband put in that last comment from "kara christoffersen." Don't let him fool you, he has a fetish for being locked up ! hahah
Seriously, there is a whole lifestyle of Adult Babies (adults who like to wear diapers and dress as babies) who pay LOTS of money for cribs built custom made like the Utica cribs. I mean over a thousand bucks EACH.

We have commode/shower chairs like this where I work. However, they are made of PVC, and plastic netting. They do have a foot rest on them, but not foot pedals like these.

that is an odd request.. not trying to be funny or mean.

rk

being a wife to someone who cannot control himself ,his muscles,his bodily functions,and has the thought process of a small child,would really like to know where i can get one of these utica cribs,so please if anyone knows how i can find one for my husband please let me know.

sincerly a concerned
wife kara

Amanda's Mom: Thank goodness for a mothers' instinct. You are a brave one and I feel for you.

just wanted to mention, I watched marathon man with my 8 year old the other night-she's been flossing ever since ;-)

Twug: Bowling alleys were usually bellow ground, put in lower level "rec" rooms, thus low or no natural light.
Go to RI and check out the "Mansions" or CT , in wealthy residential homes. You'll find a bowling alley someplace in one of them. Or, even...find a place in your own town/city. Surely there are a few : )
It wasn't a terrrible place when built. Just a place to have fun or a distraction for people-nothing sinister.

Hehe, thats cool

The way the rail runs to the back there across the wall and is shaped at the end in a bit of a point brings the shape of a coffin to mind....very creepy.

It certainly looks like a monstrous thing. But without medication, what were the palatable options?

Well, from the comments I have read, it looks as if the vote is 187 to 3 that we were all torturers and sadists. And we strapped everyone into anything that wasn't moving. :-)

Sometimes I think that everyone who works in institutional settings should take the day off and let those who are critical come in and work a shift, plus the mandatory overtime that direct care are so often compelled to work when they least expect it (like the day of their child's first birthday party or their only child's high school graduation). 'Course, I'm not sure how many of our clients would still be alive at the end of the day because this is extremely specialized and difficult work, and I am sure the population of the MI facilities would double overnight from the stress brought on by working in our facilities for that one shift.

Swear to God people (Ooooh! I'm getting religious again!) - work a shift, volunteer a shift, spend some time in a nursing home or other live-in setting - your perspective will change very quickly. Your compassion and admiration for the (majority of) staff will increase and your feelings about the people who live here will change from one-note simplistic pity into something more. A true client advocate spends as much time advocating for staff as they do advocating for the clients, because many people who live in institutional settings are there because they can not live without the assistance of someone else. Plus that extra set of eyeballs would help us deal with those few staff who ARE abusive.

Twug, thank you for thinking about staff. I lubs my staff almost as much as I love my clients.

Hah! One of my favorite movies, especially the "outtakes" at the end!

THRiLL KiLL - how interesting! Bet you are involved in tons of therapy! How is your little one coming along - do you have him in any early schooling programs yet?

For the past 10 to 20 years at facilities like these they have consistently bought LOTS of leisure materials - not just one per person like in Oliver Twist where the kid is always crying for more. :-) As a matter of fact, sometimes they have so much of this stuff that the safety officer comes and makes them get rid of some of it because there is so much that it's a fire hazard for exiting the building. Just because YOU love the little stuffed bear doesn't mean that the little stuffed bear was a particularly loved personal belonging of anyone in particular. It might have been just one of the many toys and materials that were set out for all the folks to play with. Whenever someone moves out we have to take every single thing they have ever owned and account for it by inventory. You may see some discarded art projects or communal books people used, but they are very strict about getting peoples' personal belongings out with them or there is hell to pay.

As far as everyone being without love, what an odd thought. Just because someone lived in an institution doesn't mean they lived without love. Some did, most didn't, but that's sort of like normal life, isn't it? Some of us get dealt the good cards and get swell and loving families and live like Paris Hilton and others of us end up with Norman Bates' mother as a close relative.

P.S. As a former school teacher, if parents kept every trinket and art project their kids made that I sent home with them they would need an extra house just to store all that crap. :-)