he offered.
“Thanks for the offer.”
The following morning two new male officers were at my cell.
“Laura, we’re here to bring you to the airport. I’m going to handcuff you before you leave your cell. I have your purse with me. Do you like the way I’m carrying it?” the taller cop’s joked.
I didn’t appreciate his comments. I chose not to respond to him. I already felt degraded, by this mocking approach. I knew this day would eventually end, but the bitter memory would be mine to keep.
I walked in handcuffs between the two officers through the crowded Vancouver airport. Strangers at the airport noticed and stared with curiosity as we walked by them through the building. This event topped my list for one of my most embarrassing and humiliating experiences.
They took me down to the airport’s prison cells and placed me in a holding cell. Two female cops from home eventually showed up at my cell.
“Laura, I’m Nancy and this is my partner Megan. We’re bringing you back home for an assessment.”
Again, I was handcuffed and ordered to walk between them. We approached the boarding area and the flight staff requested our tickets.
“Here are our tickets and one prisoner,” Nancy declared.
“Laura, I’m taking off your handcuffs for the flight. When we get on the plane, you’re to sit between us.”
After the plane took off, breakfast was served. Nancy and Megan were decent and respectful to me.
“What do think of everything that’s happening to you?” asked Megan.
“It’s not right or fair,” I answered.
“What would you like to see?” asked Nancy.
“I deserve a fair assessment, which won’t happen if I fall into the slimy hands of my previous shrink. I should be brought to the mental hospital, seeing how I’m being labeled as mentally unstable, instead of him. Hopefully someone will see,” I replied.
I was never handcuffed again. After we landed the ladies drove me out to the mental hospital.
Once I arrived at the facility, I was interviewed by two different psychiatrists. The second doctor spent more time discussing in depth, details of my life.
“Laura, I don’t see any reason for you to be here. You’re not crazy and you’re not mentally ill. These visions you have are a gift. You’ve had a very rough life. I can see you’re hurting, but you refuse to cry. If I call Social Services and placed you in a foster home tonight, would you promise to stay with them until your eighteenth birthday?”
“That would depend on how I was treated. If they treat me fine, I’d stay. If I’m mistreated, I’ll leave.”
“In seven weeks you’ll be eighteen. Why don’t you stay here? As soon as you’re of age, we’ll help you find an apartment of your own. I’ll make it worth your while. Free run of the facility, swimming, and unescorted shopping trips to town, baking and different functions. What about waitressing in our coffee shop? This would be better for you than taking a chance on a foster home. Your mother will cause major problems for everyone, if you walked away from a placement.”
I looked him in the eyes.
“Are you really promising to let me go on my eighteenth birthday?” I asked.
“Yes, you’re free to go,” he said. “I don’t want to see anybody mistreat you. You’ve been through a lot.”
Two weeks after arriving, there was a patient council meeting and election going on. I decided to join them. Within the hour I was both nominated and elected president of the patient’s council. I attended a ribbon cutting event during my stay. A building on the property was being named after an influential lady.
The following weekend, a staff member took me to her cottage for the weekend. I had a lovely time with June and her husband Larry. I enjoyed playing with their dog.
The following weekends, I went home with other people. I started enjoying myself with their families.
One evening my doctor was working late. I was talking to him when he offered to take me for dessert at the staff cafeteria. I was excited, he was preoccupied, and we forgot to tell the staff, where we were going. We drove in his beater to the other building.
“I’m surprised you don’t drive a new car,” I mentioned.
“I’m new to Canada. I’ve just brought my family over and money is tight,” he responded.
We were finishing our dessert when an alarm was set off. At the same time his pager started to beep. He excused himself from the table and made a quick phone call.
He returned to the table a minute later.
“I should have told them we were going for dessert before we left. They were doing the final head count of the evening before locking the unit door. They assumed you took off. I just let them know that you’re with me. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.”
One afternoon I had a premonition of a female patient dying. I mentioned this to the staff right away. Twenty four hours later this lady died. I was returning from lunch when I spotted a gurney with a body in a body bag. I could see it being pushed down the hallway. A couple of staff members sat with me and we grieved the female patient’s death together.
I was given an IQ test, achieving just two points below genius! The doctor said it was probable that, had my childhood been more stable, my test would have resulted in a much higher score.
The week before my eighteenth birthday, Nancy a nurse at the institution, grasped the dynamics of my situation when I received a call from my mother. Nancy realized that the call upset me and, as I retreated to my room in tears, she followed me inside.
“Laura, I’m really sorry about what happened to you. We’ve got the wrong person in here. What I heard on the phone tonight was sick, controlling, abusive, and completely uncalled for.”
“I’m okay, it doesn’t matter.”
“We’ve been watching you for awhile. Every time you receive a phone call from her, your whole demeanor changes. You appear distressed and uneasy. Tonight I listened in on your phone call. I needed to know what was happening. This is going to be documented and a meeting will be held tomorrow. I’m putting in an immediate request for an apartment or accommodations of your choice.”
A couple of choices were presented to me the following day. The apartment they were offering wasn’t the best choice. This apartment would be shared with a roommate. I would have to enroll in a program teaching young people how to survive on their own. I already knew how to cook, clean, shop, and work.
My biggest concern was my education. I was going to be an adult in a couple of days and I didn’t even have a grade eight education.
Another choice was Inga, an older lady offering room and board. I felt her place would be in my best interests. It would only be she and I living in the household. I registered at a local high school as a mature student. It bothered me that I was older than
