Detour from Normal (35 page)

"Was his physical behavior different?" asked Ms. Cuomo.

"He was excited about how these new abilities were going to affect everybody."

"Did he indicate to you that he wasn't going to work anymore?"

"In his new social system, people wouldn't have to work. That definitely was out of character for him. He's a good employee, loves his job. But work didn't seem to be on his radar anymore."

Ms. Cuomo asked him if he'd seen me sleep while he was here. He responded that he'd only seen me sleep at Phoenix Mercy: a two-hour nap and a four-hour nap.

"Previously, did he sleep regular hours?"

"Yes. He's very fit, he exercises regularly, sleeps and eats well. Much better than I do."

"Did you at some point go for a walk with him?"

"We went for a walk in his neighborhood the second morning I was here. Suddenly his speech became slurred and he stumbled and then collapsed in the street. I pulled him onto the grass in someone's yard, went and got the car, and took him home."

"Did you see any aggression toward anybody recently?" asked Ms. Cuomo.

"Objection: relevance," Mr. Lermer cried out.

Ms. Cuomo continued. "I would argue that it shows his 'persistent and acute disability' and shows a change in character."

"I'll allow it," said the judge.

"Did you see any aggression or anger toward anybody that your brother would normally not exhibit?"

"I just noticed some agitation. I never had to intervene or protect Beth."

"Did you ever suggest that he get services other than medical treatment?"

"He was very unaccepting of that if I brought it up, so I just let his wife and doctor deal with that."

"In your opinion, did you feel he was unwilling or unable to get help on his own?"

"Well, he was willing to take an occasional Ativan, but that was all. He didn't feel like he needed mental health treatment."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

"Mr. Lermer," the judge called.

Roger asked Dana again how long he'd been here and where he'd stayed, then attempted to undermine some of his testimony. "When you testified about Ken discussing new abilities and talking about a new kind of society, how long of a conversation was that?"

"Hours. It wasn't a casual fifteen-minute conversation."

"You testified that Ken only slept at Phoenix Mercy. How do you know that?"

"I was there the whole time. We brought him in at ten thirty a.m., and I was with him until four o'clock the next morning. During that
time, he slept for two hours, from around one to three p.m. They gave him a shot of Ativan, and he slept for four hours some time after that."

Mr. Lermer interrogated Dana with regard to my sleep patterns. It was clear that Dana had no knowledge of my sleep aside from Phoenix Mercy. Then he revisited my collapse.

"Do you know why Ken collapsed when you were walking with him?"

"Well, my guess is from fatigue. I put him in the car afterward and we drove around; he seemed to recover a little."

"Do you know the specific reason?"

"No."

"So you're just guessing that it may have been because of fatigue?"

"Well, he just seemed to run out of gas. He was talking to me one second, then something went wrong. It could have been anything."

Roger asked Dana if he'd asked me to get medical treatment. Dana reiterated that I was resistant to that suggestion.

Roger continued. "Ken had already been to a couple of other medical facilities previously, right?"

"Yes."

"So he had already gotten some mental health care?"

"I wasn't involved in that."

"Nothing further, Your Honor."

"Ms. Cuomo," called the judge.

"Why are you testifying today?" asked Ms. Cuomo.

"To help Ken get restored to where he was before his surgery so that he can be back with his wife and children."

"It's not to punish him?"

"Ken and I have never had any kind of punitive relationship in our lives."

"Thank you."

"You may step down," said the judge.

Dana stepped down from the stand. As he passed me on the way back to his seat, he glanced at me momentarily. I don't know if he noticed, but I had tears welling in my eyes. Regardless of whether his testimony hurt or helped me, I was overwhelmed by his honesty and accuracy. Dana had traveled seven hundred miles to testify against me to ensure that I was forced on medication. I fully expected that he might lie or twist the truth in order to accomplish that goal. Instead he paid me—a person who values the truth above all else—a supreme compliment. As our eyes met, I gave him a subtle thumbs-up and mouthed the words "thank you."

Shirley Steinfeld then took the stand, and Ms. Cuomo began to question her. "Were you recently called to Mr. Dickson's home?"

"Yes."

"Besides the family, was there anybody else there?"

"A neighbor and the other three individuals in court."

"It wasn't a police call?"

"No, it was not."

"When you met with Mr. Dickson, how did he present?"

"He was in constant motion. He rarely sat down. When he would sit down, it was for a minute or two at the most."

"Was he calmly doing something, or was it an anxious, restless motion?"

"It was restless. He was constantly moving—playing with the dog, walking from outside to the garage and back."

"Did he know why you were there and the purpose of your evaluation?"

"We explained that we were a crisis team, that his family was concerned about him. He didn't seem to understand that."

"How was his speech?"

"I found his speech pressured, rapid."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Over four years."

"How would you describe his overall presentation? Was he manic? Was he depressed?"

"He was extremely manic. I do not believe he was oriented to the situation. It didn't seem to bother him that there were two strangers in his home, even when we explained why we were there."

"Did he want to answer your questions?"

"No, he didn't."

Shirley could certainly read a lot into our brief introduction, me playing with my dog and talking to my brother and friend. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to her; I had nothing against her—I just didn't want to be involved in whatever was being discussed. I'd had enough of people trying to fix me.

"After watching him and attempting to interact with him, you filed an involuntary petition. Why was it involuntary?"

"In speaking with him when he would sit down, I believe my comment was 'Your family is concerned about you, would you be willing to see a doctor?' He was not interested."

I shook my head and whispered to my attorney that what she was describing never happened. I was to repeat those actions several more times during her testimony.

"Is there anything else that he presented at that time?"

"He seemed extremely tightly wound; I felt he would be extremely unpredictable."

"Agitated?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Thank you. I have no further questions."

"Mr. Lermer," called the judge.

"Thank you. Have you ever met Mr. Dickson before?"

"No."

"You were at his home for two hours?"

"That's correct."

"It's your testimony that you explained to Mr. Dickson why you were there?"

"Yeah."

"And you're saying he did not understand why you were there?"

"He didn't seem to understand when I said, 'Your family is concerned about you.'"

"Where were you in that two-hour period, inside or outside the house?"

"I was inside sitting on a couch. I had a clear view of the backyard and the path that was continually taken by Mr. Dickson."

"Where was Mr. Dickson most of the time during that period?"

"He probably was outside more than inside."

"When he was outside, was he mainly playing with the dog?"

"He was playing with the dog and talking to his brother and a friend."

"Could you hear the conversation?"

"No."

"What you mainly observed when Mr. Dickson was outside was him moving around rapidly?"

"I observed a hyper level of activity, constant motion, what appeared to me to be an inability to sit down and relax."

"You mentioned that Mr. Dickson was irritated when you told him that you were there because his family was concerned about him?"

"He wasn't irritated with us; he really didn't even acknowledge us."

"You made a comment before that Mr. Dickson really wasn't bothered that you were there, right?"

"He didn't acknowledge us."

"But you did testify that he was irritated when you asked him questions though."

"Once we asked him if he would sit down and chat with us for a while. He became irritated."

"I have nothing further."

"You may step down," said the judge.

"The petitioner rests," said Ms. Cuomo.

After taking the oath, I took the stand and was questioned by Roger. He asked about my marital status and whether I had children. He asked if I loved my wife and family. I replied that I did and that I had a good relationship with both my wife and my children.

"Have you ever had any mental health history before?" Mr. Lermer asked.

"Never in my life."

"You've never gone to the doctor and complained about depression?"

"No."

"You've never been in a hospital like this before?"

"No, except for the other ones in the last few weeks."

"You had a surgery to your bowels recently, right?"

"Yes, I had a micro-perforation of my colon due to diverticulitis. I had to have ten inches of my colon removed."

"Were you in the hospital for quite a while?"

"Twelve days. From April fourteenth to the twenty-fifth."

"Have you ever had that serious a surgery before in your life?"

"No, just a minor hernia surgery a few years back and resetting a broken leg when I was five."

"So you're a healthy person?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe that when Dana was at your house that you were having mental health issues?"

"No."

"So when your brother was describing the issues, what are your comments regarding that?"

"I agree completely with his testimony." That was perhaps the worst thing a defense attorney could hear from his client, but I wanted to make it clear that I didn't want to discount or distort my brother's truthful testimony. "I definitely had some ideas in my head that were very interesting, and I was very excited about them, but I've since realized that some of those things are not possible."

"He mentioned that you expressed some new abilities and talked about a new society. Did you talk to him about those topics?"

"Yes."

"Are those topics that you normally talk to him about?"

"No, just after the surgery."

"Were you behaving any differently because of loss of sleep?"

"Only when I collapsed. If I go too long without sleep, I have a seizure. I'll be temporarily paralyzed and lose speech."

"Is that what happened when you went for the walk with your brother?"

"Yes."

"Were you having seizures prior to that?"

"I had several: one at Desert Hope and another in an ambulance on the way to Pinecrest. I also had two in the PDC."

"You never had these until after your surgery?"

"No."

"Did you have trouble sleeping after the surgery?"

"Yes. Something happened as a result of the surgery, and it made it impossible to sleep. Eventually, I began to use Ativan to help myself sleep."

"Were you having sleep issues when your brother was visiting?"

"Just the night my wife was at the neighbors'. I was restless because I wanted to see her."

"You said you were having trouble with your adrenal gland. Did it make you hyper for that night?"

"No, that wasn't adrenaline. I was agitated because of all the people in my home and the fact that my wife was suffering under all the stress and needed help. When she is under stress, she doesn't eat well and loses weight. It turns out that one of the women was a recovering anorexic and recognized that Beth was undernourished. So she offered to help her. They also took her away to let me sleep in the house that night instead of at a hotel."

"I see. Do you believe you were a little hyper that night when you were talking to your brother?"

"Yes, because of everything going on. There were maybe nine people in my home, all telling me I had a problem. I was trying to convince them that my wife had a problem because she was so stressed from my surgery and she'd lost a lot of weight. I felt attacked by all these people. Some of them I didn't even know."

"Let's talk about when the crisis worker came. Do you recall the crisis worker telling you why she was there?"

"No, I don't recall that they asked me questions. I would have been happy to sit down and talk to them, but I didn't know that I was required to. I didn't know why they were there. They were talking to my wife and I just stayed out of it."

"Were you irritated that the crisis worker was there?"

"No, not at all. I just wasn't aware of why they were there, and I just tried to stay out of it. If anyone had asked me to come over and talk, I would have been happy to."

"Do you have a job, Ken?"

"Well, I hope I still do."

"What is your profession?"

"I work at Nanosys; I'm a principal test engineer."

"How long have you worked there?"

"Since last July."

"How long have you been in that profession?"

"About thirty-two years."

"When you're sick, do you go to the doctor?"

"Yes, but I rarely get sick."

"Did you agree to go to the doctor for your bowel issues?"

"I admitted myself."

"Did you go to a couple of facilities for your behavior prior to coming to this hospital?"

"I did everything I was asked."

"You thought you were having some issues and you cooperated and went to those facilities?"

"I didn't believe that I had issues, but I agreed to go because my family felt it was necessary."