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Category: The Long Hallway

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 1

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    THE MISSION Orientation unsettled me more than I expected. I sat in a small meeting room near the personnel office, surrounded by other summer workers, trying to absorb the stream of rules, warnings, and actual accounts of crises the staff delivered with practiced seriousness. Their words blurred together – do’s and don’ts, what-ifs and never-evers…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 2

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    When I finished reading, the Aide led me through the ward. Most of the men didn’t acknowledge us – no words, no eye contact. Their silence felt heavy, as though it had settled over the room long before I arrived. One small elderly man stood out. He was neatly dressed in brown leather high-top shoes,…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 3

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    When the Aide left for lunch, my stomach dropped. She and the Aide from the ward directly across the hall went to the Dining Hall together, leaving me responsible for “sitting doors” with an honor patient. The doors of both units were propped open. I sat in the doorway of C-12; the honor patient sat…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 4

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    THE LONG HALLWAY … NITTY GRITTY On my second day, I was present for the entire morning routine. Breakfast began shortly after I arrived at 7 am. All 40 patients lined up two by two in the hallway, Fred at the front, the Aide and me at the back. Most of the men assembled quickly,…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 5

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    One afternoon, when I was cleaning out a small storage closet, I found a ball. It was eight or ten inches in diameter. I gathered six of the more active men into a circle at the far end of the ward. Three of the men caught the ball easily. One man let the ball bounce…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 6

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in , ,

    Robert lagged wherever C-11 went. He lay on his bed during cleaning chores and insisted, “I’m tard, Jackson. I’m tard.” The Nurse Aide suggested I speak to Dr. Natesan, Robert’s psychiatrist, about his lethargy. When the doctor visited the next day, I suggested Robert might need vitamins. I don’t know what Dr. Natesan prescribed, but…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 7

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 7 A day or two after writing the letter, my assignment changed, and I began “floating” to other wards. The shift in assignments pulled me out of the familiar rhythm of C-11 and into corners of the hospital I had barely noticed before. One morning, as I helped form a breakfast…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 8

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    Back on C-11, when I sat doors with Fred, I wondered why such a normal-seeming man was hospitalized. Later, I checked his card and realized he was the patient who attempted to kill his wife during home visits. I remembered meeting her – brash, bold, overbearing, and felt a strong empathy for him. Every patient…

  • THE LONG HALLWAY CHAPTER 9

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    by

    Linda Alton
    in ,

    THE LONG HALLWAY  CHAPTER 9 During my summer working at Galesburg State Research Hospital, I encountered many unforgettable moments. One afternoon, when I was working on another ward, I saw a well-dressed Black woman standing at the door of C-11. The Aide hadn’t answered her knock, so I used my key to let her in.…