Haldol Overdose At Provo Canyon School in Utah

[nite owl]

This was taken from http://www.beyondbusiness.net
This former student tells a harrowing tale of neglect and forced drugging at the largest and oldest RTC - Provo Canyon School....
I was incarcerated at PCS from 5/1995 - 1/1996. I have a Haldol story to share. It was a typical day of volleyball in the gym with my unit when I got into a verbal argument with another girl. It never escalated beyond a little smack talking. That however, is enough to warrant a dreaded "Dial 9" and the ensuing trip to observation followed by weeks on investment. Anyway, as soon as I heard (can't remember now b/c I got so many Dial 9's but I think this particular one was Barb or Julie) her radio out for backup I got panicky b/c Dial 9's ALWAYS result in physical pain. So the giant Samoans from Unit 1 and I think Kevin when he still worked there come charging in and I admit I ran to a corner and cowered covering my head. They dragged me around the carpet (carpeted gymnasiums are strange) giving me lovely rug burns, smashed my head into the floor tearing out an earring, gave me leg tingles from digging their knees into my back, and all the other good stuff that goes along with it. I was promptly locked in Observation where I was prepared to stay for a good long while as that is protocol. Of course there's no clock but I estimate I sat in there freezing for about 20 minutes or more. Mind you I'm sitting there calmly freezing in my tiny yellow shorts and tshirt on the concrete rubbing my wounds and trying to find a happy place in my mind. The big, wooden door flings open and all my Dial 9'ers come in followed by the nurse. They pinned me against the wall two on each side while the nurse gave me an injection. No one said a word or answered any of my questions about what they were putting into my body and why. Another 20 minutes or so goes by and Mo's at the door telling me to get to class. Now like I said before I was a pro at Observation having spent much of my time in there so I was very shocked that they only made me sit in there for less than an hour. A more normal time would be anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. So I go back to class, I believe it was Beth's class, and I started feeling really funny. My head flopped over and it was like I couldn't even hold it up. My arms weren't working correctly and I felt like I was paralyzed. I asked Mo what was going on and she took one look at me and told me to go lay down on my bed on my unit. That got me to wondering b/c it's unheard of to lay on your bed during the day hours. That was actually considered "run plans" (even though that makes no sense) and was a major no-no. Afterall, don't want to mess up those hospital corners. Anyway, I'm laying there and this creeping feeling that soon I will not be able to swallow or breathe well is setting in. Mo comes back with the nurse and thank God for shift change b/c it was the nurse who was one of the few decent human beings employed by PCS. Her name was either Betsy or Nancy I think. Funny how the other nurse never bothered to check on me and instead clocked out business as usual. Getting to my point, the nice nurse takes one look at me and calls 911. The ambulance comes and they've got me on a gurney and I'm in the parking lot (the first time I'd been outside in weeks I might add) and all the staff are bargaining to keep me from going to the hospital (guess they'd have to tell my mom then). So the EMT's give me some Cogentin I think it was while I'm laying strapped to the gurney in the parking lot. The shot works wonders and I'm able to control my extremities again so of course there's no need to see if they've damamged me in anyway and it's back inside to start working off some investment points. Weeks later mom comes for a visit and they have conveniently forgotten to notify her of my allergic reaction to their unwarranted chemical restraints. Long story short, they were completely reckless with the medications they doled out during my day and if they'd been any more negligent they could have killed or seriously damaged me physically and not just mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Thanks for reading this is not usually a story I like to tell and everytime I've listed an allergy to Haldol during a doctor visit I get strange looks.
 marjory

I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.

--Thomas Carlyle

[85 Day Jerk]

Hi, my name is Bob and I had what is referred to as a nervous breakdown when I was 25.  I was placed in an emergency care clinic who's mission was to medicate, stabilize, and return people to society in a timely manner.  The program was called P.E.M.H.S. and stood for Pinellas Emergency Mental Health Services.  It was still in it's infancy in 1988, and it broke alot of ground.

I had been given a massive amount of Haldol to knock my ass out and stop driving the nurses nuts.
I was a smartass and a jerk, and one day I was playing volleyball and someone on the other side spiked the ball really hard and it hit me in the face.  They decided to end the game because it was close to smoke break time.  We were all talking and from out of the blue, I began to slur my words.  Everyone thought I was clowning around and then Nurse Nancy, a gorgeous lady that looked like Lt. Uhura from Star Trek, jumped to her feet and ran inside the building.  My tongue was swelling up inside my mouth and I was drooling profusely.  I started getting scared shitless, when Nancy came back out with a big fucking needle and yanked me to my feet.  The psyche techs ordered everyone back into the building and Nancy matter of factly says, "Drop 'em" to me.  It felt like she was shooting liquid fire into my ass, then she had me come inside and sit down in the living room area.   Slowly everything came into focus and she told me how lucky I was.  Had she not been outside to observe my slurred speech, she would have not have been able to react to my "Worm Tongue Effect" and it is most likely that I would have had a seizure or worse.

Haldol aint nothing to play with!  I hope that everything is fine with you now.  Take Care