The next morning I feel very pleasant. At this point I have pretty much accepted my fate here and am just glad to be with the one I love. But I really don’t want to stay here forever. Can Jena and I get back to our home soon? Just thinking back on yesterday when we told the nurse we have been here 12 days and 9 days. Wow we have been here a long time. The last several days I admit have been pretty relaxing and I haven’t gotten any more electric shocks. That means I’ve been behaving. But when the nurse comes in I am going to ask her when I can see the psychiatrist and talk about us leaving.

It’s a male nurse this time that comes in.

I look at him and say, “Wait, I remember you, you were our nurse before.”

“Yes.”

“What is your name?”

“I told you before but you must have forgot. I’m Andy.”

He then tells me, “You don’t take any meds in the morning right John? You just take the one pill at night?”

“Yes that’s right. They started to give it to me after I was admitted and I don’t have the right to refuse it.”

“OK. Have you talked with the psychiatrist about it?”

“Yes. It’s OK. I’m used to taking it by now. By the way, I want to see the psychiatrist again, I want to know when we can get out of here.”

“You have been here quite a while, huh?”

“Yes. 10 days. Over a week. I want us to go home. I want us to go back to our life.”

“Yes. I will check on that. Let’s get you up, into the nice warm shower and into some nice fresh cozy hospital gowns.”

“OK. Thank you.”

I get out of bed and so does my wife.

I get into the shower room and the nurse Andy goes in with me and undresses me. He takes my shock device off to and puts it aside. He places my dirty hospital gowns and socks into the hamper and he leaves to tend to my wife as I get into the shower.

I turn the water on and wash up.

Right after I get out and start to dry off he knocks on the door.

“I got your change of clothes, and I have to fasten your shock device.”

I let him in with the towel wrapped around me. And he comes in and dresses me.

“Thank you.”

“You are very welcome. Let’s get that shock device put back on.”

So he fastens that onto my leg.

“Have they had to use it much?”

“I haven’t been shocked now for several days.” I say proudly.

“Oh good. So you must be being a very well behaved patient.”

“I have. Thank you.”

I pause and say, “I want to find out about getting out.”

Well you and Jena go have your breakfast and I will get right with you on that. OK?”

“OK. Thanks.”

Breakfast is cereal this morning, it comes with a blueberry muffin. The muffin actually has real whole blueberries, not what you find in a lot of blueberry muffins. We get a choice of juice. I get cranberry.

As Jena and I are eating breakfast together our nurse Andy comes over and says, “Well good news. You are both scheduled to see the psychiatrist today.”

“That’s great.” I respond.

I look at my wife and say, “Isn’t that great?!”

“Yes. That’s good.”

Later that day when it is time for our walk I wonder how much longer I am going to have to wear these johhnies. Even when I go outside for the walk I have to wear these.

It feels nice outside, but I want to get back to a normal life. Or at least as normal as it was before we ended up in here. I like the feeling of being out in the hospital gown, but I still feel like I want to have my clothes back because I’m afraid someone will see me outside like this. It’s embarrassing walking around in these outside.

I feel so naked in these. I have no underwear on, and that makes me feel exposed. Can’t even have my underwear. I know people can’t see I’m not wearing underwear but it still makes me feel kind of naked. As I go for the walk around the beautiful yard I try not to feel embarrassed by what I am wearing. Seems like nothing embarrasses my wife Jena. She is such a free spirit that just doesn’t seem to care or even think about what other people think.

After the walk we get an ice cream cone and then shortly after that the psychiatrist Dr. Dave calls my wife and I into his office together.

I ask him, “When are we going to be discharged. I really want us to get out of here. We have been here well over a week.”

“That’s why I wanted to meet with you. You both have made great progress. Patient Jena, you are doing really well with the medication adjustments we have made. And Patient John you have made great progress.”

“I haven’t gotten shocked at all in the past several days.”

“Yes. That’s great. So we are discharging both of you later today, after supper.”

“Oh great finally! I really don’t want to end up back here.”

“Speaking of the shock device, have you thought about your follow up treatment.”

“My follow up treatment?” then I remember, “Oh, how long was it.”

“Well we we’re hoping you would let us keep you on the shock device for two more weeks after you get out. But if that’s to much I hope you are at least let us keep you on it for one week.”

“At this point I want to be done with all of this and go back home.”

Jena looks at me. And she has a look like I just did something wrong.

I look back at her and say, “You really want me to, don’t you?”

“I think it will help. It’s only two weeks.”

I pause and think about it.

She continues, “You know how upset you get sometimes over the littlest things.”

I look at the psychiatrist and say, “So how does this work.”

He response, “We have a staff assigned to you 24/7 outside the hospital, they will chart your behavior and administer a shock when you lash out. Of course it won’t be the same staff the whole time, they will switch shifts. You just go on your normal life but you will always have a staff nearby to administer a shock.”

“That will feel weird having a staff person with me all the time, and having to wear a shock device.”

“They will give you privacy, so they won’t go in the bathroom or bedroom with you.”

“OK” I say simply.

My wife then speaks up and says, “Hey can we keep these cute johnnies?”

“Sure, when you pack up you can just put the johnnies you’re wearing with the rest of your belongings.”

Jena and I both say in unison, “Thanks.”

“And consider filling out a survey. We want to know how your time was here.”

We both assure him we will.

We leave the office and I am so happy to be finally going home.