Byline: Michael Mok; 1961-03-21; New York World-Telegram and Sun; pages 1
Report: "I Was a Mental Patient" - Michael Mok - New York World-Telegram & Sun
Tags: asylum, madhouse, mental hospital, patient, posed as
I had worked my way from Ward 31 to Ward 33 but I hadn't known what to expect: Ward 33 smelled like the hold of a troop ship. This is the odor of too many unwashed men sleeping too close together. Five beds had been set up in the day room, where men slept under the unrelenting glare of overhead lights all night long. Near the nurses' station lay a man who was tied to his bed by the sleeves of his straitjacket. He was straining against his bonds and staring straight ahead with unseeing eyes.
Description:In the sixth installment of the "I Was a Mental Patient" series, Mok describes the condition of Ward 33 of Kings County psychiatric wing in detail. Like many of the other wards, it is overcrowded and houses a mixture of patients all together, from the depressed young to the old and depraved.
Rights: Copyrighted, used with permission.
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