psychiatric er and people with mobility aids
tw: ableism, psychiatric abuse, the er, sanism, medical abuse
i was in the psychiatric er sunday. this post isn't about why i was there but rather a snippet of what happened while i was there.
i am a cane user, however, i can walk without it, it just hurts and is difficult due to my chronic pain, hypermobility, joint instability, etc.
i could go on about the various aspects of the adult psych er i was in (im 17 and people 16 and up have to go to the adult psych er for psychiatric stuff but the children's er is open to anyone under 18, which firstly shows some bias there already) and psych ers in general because i've been in a few and they've all been problematic, but this is specific to those with mobility aids.
firstly, once you say it's a psych reason for your visit, they strip you of your belongings, including your mobility aid. you can ask for a hospital wheelchair, but they won't let you use it once they've got you in your bed in the hallway or your room. so i left my cane with my mum because i didn't want to risk damage to it or losing it. i said no to a wheelchair because i felt bad asking for one, and i wouldn't be able to use it to move around on my own anyway as they would take it from me once i was moved to the psych section of the er.
two other people in the psych er had mobility aids: a wheelchair user and a cane user (the cane was the exact same as mine.)
the cane user asked for his cane to be kept with him and the security (that's who pats you down and takes your stuff) said yes to him. but once they transferred him from the gurney to the bed, they immediately took it from him, ignoring his pleas and begging. he was stuck on his bed.
the wheelchair user had a wheelchair in her room because she couldn't get to it without their help so they thought it was okay to keep it there. she couldn't go to the bathroom without it and was going to the bathroom in her bed because they wouldn't let her use the wheelchair to get to the bathroom. they mentioned when i was there (she was there for days before) something about maybe getting a bed pan, but im 99% sure based on what i heard that they never bothered with that in the end. she was there for days, and while i was there, she begged them over and over for her to use the wheelchair to go to the bathroom or to move around a bit so she wasn't stuck in bed for the days on end she was.
remember that people who didn't need mobility aids were allowed to pace their rooms and go to the bathroom
the staff at the psychiatric er also made fun of her (and many other patients.)
the non mobility aid users were allowed to move around how they wanted to go to the bathroom, so why were we limited in such an ableist fashion?
to strip us of our limbs, our agency, and our dignity. they used our disabilities as tools to subdue us and inflict pain in me when i did move.
it was disgusting. it was ableism.
(there is all sorts of ableism i experience and others experience in the psychiatric er, i just am highlighting this right now)
feel free to reblog!! i want to spread awareness so i like reblogs
