It's the general state of long-term care institutions throughout North America and Europe. It's a social-status affair, and workers like to be prison guard type.

These places single out favorite patients with money. Low income people are trash, but at this place, things are changing a little.

On reason they had to be careful when Nancy moved into long-term in 2003, was because she moved out of a bad situation, where things were as bad with the social-worker and care-givers at the West Montreal Rehabilitation Center. Before Nancy moved here, I thoroughly rubbed the head-nurses' noses in what Eliaze was pulling off, and they knew I had really caused problems for him.

It's too long to post here, but I'd organized a complete expose with her social-worker's boss. Because I couldn't stay over weekends and holidays at her apartment, Nancy and me had the phone-line open all the time she was not sleeping.

So, I was virually living with her, all the time she was not on the way here, or going home. When Eliaze Mainberger (who eventually became my distasteful hamburger) went to have meetings at her apartment, if he closed the phone, she just shut up and refused to talk.

So, like it or not, I was in all her meetings, and was aware of his little games with the care-givers upstairs, in a separate apartment. He refused to ever get Nancy and the care-givers together, so Nancy and him could demand an answer to why they confiscated most of her food, for themselves. That was just one of the list of events.

One night, I hacked all the voice-mail to the offices of the rehab's main offices. On Monday morning, everybody's voice-mail system was loaded with the details and circumstances of Eliaze Mainberger's client, Nancy.

One of his bosses, who had met me twice, arranged for Eliaze to have a promotion. When Nancy had been here for awhile, a nurse at the rehab told Nancy what they had done, and that they fired him not long after his promotion.

Their excuse for making patients here do everything for themselves, is "Autonomitis". It's a disease of Healthcare, and that's why it's so hard to diagnose and treat.

Although I understand the theory behind "autonomy", a legitimate application of being autonomous, Nancy's situation was too advanced to expect her to do most things herself. When Nancy was having a good day, she would put stuff away in her room, and use the toilet instead of the comode.

But, the workers made things impossible to deal with, because they treated Nancy's "Care Plan" like a regimented sentence. The workers loved the feeling, that they were prison guards, and that rather than help her by doing what needed done, they just stomped out, and "reported" that Nancy refused.

Before she wound up permanently on oxygen and a wheelchair, if we went out for a few hours, she was punished for that. Their attitudes were, that if she was able to go out for a few hours, she didn't need their help.

The biggest reason things improved here in the last six months, was because they got scared of me. Last year, an old tough guy from the '50's-60's was here for a year. He stole from me, and from half the peple in this hospital.

Actually, I was his first customer. It took me two days to nail down what was going down. One night when Nancy and me were coming back, I told her I had was going to call the shots.

Johnny tough guy acted all best of friends, and I asked him how he liked the new razor blades, and the razor? He chuckled, "yeah, pretty good"! Nancy stayed at the nurses' station, while Johnny followed me to Nancy's room.

There he pretended he didn't quite catch what I was saying, until I echoed it at good volume. He tried to babble on that he doesn't do stuff like that, and that I shouldn't accuse people of things, without evidence.

For two days, everybody told me the same thing, because they were defending their own loophole to what they'd like to get away with. So, I assured Johhny, that he could suck everybody including adminstration, into this "evidence bullshit"!--But with my finger in his face, I told him "don't you ever play that shit with me"!

He stomped out of the room, and continued to clean out the hospital, until Nancy saw him carrying a blind lady's boombox one day. This was in 2004. Workers called security (ha!--security), and Jessie got her boombox back.

So, poor ol' tough guy was always threatening me, alone, and in front of fifteen people. It didn't bother me until one day he stole Nancy's Gazette paper. She really got mad, and the nurses got it for her.

My-oh-my! A few minutes later, even though Nancy's name was on it, ol' Johnny went past the room, yelling at Nancy tha he better get the paper back when she was finished.

Nancy started getting upset about that, and I thought maybe him and me could have a few words. I slammed the mean-machine out of the room, and told him, that throwing threats my way, is OK!--But not Nancy!

He wanted to meet me outside, and teach me a lesson. I was so excited that tough guy was going to teach me a lesson, that I even tried to help him toward the elevator.--But, poor ol' tough guy didn't seem to get that far.

The nex day, I was in for a real reprimand for leaving two major laserations on both of his legs. When I was asked if I was becoming dangerous, and what was I capable of next, I reminded the head-nurse of the conditions and threats to myself, I've tolerated for four years.--And what did I ever do? When she understood that he had uttered a threat to Nancy, she got the point.

After that, there was a situation where I was explaining to a female house-keeper how Johnny works, and there's never any evidence. He came down the hall and told me to shut-up! When I to.d him people have been tryin' to shut me up my whole life, and it's impossible, he took 3 swings at me. When I put his legs into the wall, to block a fourth blow to the head, Nancy started freaking out.

So, I yelled at Nancy to get out of the way, and I'd just press charges. When the cops came, they divided us up, and I told one of the workers to not even try denying she was an eyewitness.

After both reports were completed, the cops said I could press charges if I wanted, but probably the judge would agree with him to counter-charge you. You assaulted him with the electric wheelchair, and used it as a weapon.

So, I answered, that if guys like me are singled out, if we act in the least self-defence measure, we need to kill our assailant. They just pretended not to hear it.Just before they left, I told them, that if I do get hit again, I will be in court.

> I am apphauled by the situation in hospitals
> that you are describing. Do you think it is
> all over Canada or is it worst in Quebec?