Of Cuckoos and Men

Here we go again. March 18th. Two days to spring and snow coming tonight.
True confessions: I have worked in the mental health system since 1987 and today is my first viewing of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I tend to avoid movies that are related to psych because they tend to either piss me off or depress me. For me it is like the computer engineers at RPI with whom I watched Tron when it came out. They spent the whole time critiquing the code and impossibility of the premise. Watching James Bond and Star Trek with engineering students was also an experience. These movies are like that for me.
But i am already in a mood, so why not.
The ovarian area pain started over the weekend, just reminding me more about the upcoming tests and the impressively abnormal test results i just got back. Needed the lortab to sleep Friday. It's not as bad now, but it is still there. My husband thinks i am too stupid and stubborn to call the doctor. I am not. I just know that, unless i am doubling over and vomiting, there is nothing they are going to do except give me pain killers until the tests next week. Women don't get treated like guys for anything less than bleeding from orifices not meant to bleed. Seriously. It sucks, but there it is. We report symptoms that would drop a man and we are given something to placate us and made to wait forever for treatment and tests. Until the threshold of "holy crap" is crossed. At least in urgent care and emergent care settings.
On a totally other note, last night at work we were short staffed again as always. From the personal care/laundry room radio comes "Crazy Train." I am speed walking trying to catch up while doing an airplane impression around a corner (so i look friendlier and stay on the humor side of pissed off). The patient on the phone sees me, i say "good song" and he says "that's why I'm here." Still riding the rail on two wheels so far... But there are moments. Especially with a mixed bag of folks with mental illness, addictions, antisocial and other personality disorders, and the developmentally disabled. We are the only hospital around that takes all of those anywhere around here, so we get everybody's rejects. To be a reject from the island of misfit toys is a whole other level of sad. Psychotic and MR is sad, violent and tricky to manage in the milieu... But then we have the fun moments. Because before and above all else, they are / we are all human beings.