Trigger for a first person description of a 12-year-old boy being involuntarily restrained and confined in a hospital.
I heard this on NPR this morning and it was too good not to share. I wasn't sure which forum to put it in, but the kids in the story are said to have a form of bipolar, so this seemed like a good choice.
Quote:
As far back as he can remember, George McCann lived in fear. When he was asleep he would have horrific nightmares filled with violent images. When he was awake, he often felt threatened by people, including members of his own family. And when he felt threatened, he would become aggressive, even violent.
George spent his childhood certain that something very bad was going to happen. And when he was 12, it did. His unrelenting fears led to a violent outburst at school. And George landed in a psychiatric hospital.
It was a frightening place for a fearful kid. When staff members tried to restrain him during a confrontation, he fought as if his life were at stake. George was big and strong for his age. But it was no contest.
"I was strapped down at the ankles, across the chest and at my wrists," he says. "And they put me into the room with padded walls, you know. I remember screaming and screaming and screaming."
Today, George is 22 and back at home with his parents, two younger siblings and a dog named Tressel. They live in a small, single-story house within commuting distance of Manhattan.
When George answers the door, it's clear he's grown into a big, sturdy guy. He wears rimless glasses and slightly rumpled clothes. His handshake is surprisingly gentle.
George's passion is movies, which he reviews on his blog. He has even written a couple of scripts. One is a Western. "It's about redemption and whether people can find it or not," he says.
Sitting on the living room couch with his mother, Cydney McCann, George explains how his own redemption came in the form of an inquisitive psychiatrist and the experimental use of a drug called ketamine.
|
The story continues here (or you can listen to it):
How An Unlikely Drug Helps Some Children Consumed By Fear : Shots - Health News : NPR