Across the street from the wing where the ward is located, is the guidance councling center. They called us and said that they were sending over a woman patient that was violent and needed a strait-jacket. We watched out of the window from our sixth story ward and watched them struggling with a young woman in her 30's. She was kicking, scratching, screaming and very hard to handle. It was taking 6 orderlies to get her across. They were unable to get her on a stretcher or a wheelchair and was trying hard to walk her over. Half walk, drag, and carry her.

As soon as they left her with us in the day room, they all disappeared. There was me, a male nurse who I will call Tom, and another female nurse. Wow what could the three of us do that it took 6 men to get her over here. Well, Tom finally wrestled her to the floor and I sat on her, and the other nurse was trying to get the jacket on her. The patient bucked and threw me off, and kicked Tom in the face, kicked him, grabbed his face and clothes. White things flew like mad all over the room. No time to see what they were. Once again we got her on the floor, injected her with thorazine, This time Tom sat on her, I put the jacket on her and the other nurse sat on her legs. Finally! the jacket was tied and she was at last on a stretcher with legs and feet in restraints.

The other nurse said "Tom that woman kicked all of your teeth out and they are all over the floor". She bent over and picked up the white things and lo and behold they were buttons off Tom's shirt and lab coat. We all had a good laugh then. He said he was too busy to even notice anything white flying around the room or to notice that his buttons were gone.

We all said it would be a good time to have a beer or two after what we went through. That of course was impossible. That woman only weighed about a 100 lbs. But I would have sworn she was SUPERWOMAN.
Needless to say the day was no longer dull.