Glorymill M. Rodrguez Ramos Healing Arts Prof. CollinsOctober 8, !". Anger and #isa$$ointment at t%e Hos$ital&t is not an uncommon occurrence to %ear $%rases suc% as 'O% t%at $oor guy( aimed to)ards blind strangers* t%ese comments em$%asize an indi+idual,s +ie) of disabled $eo$le, as a lo)er class of inferiors, unable to %a+e normal life. -%is to$ic of disability is not common among literary genders, as some te.ts t%at deal )it% t%is t%eme are often inclined to e.$lode t%e $ity int%e readers, or try to ins$ire )it% an account about t%e disabled indi+idual. /im 0erris boo12 '-%e Hos$ital Poems( is full of a sort of angry $oetry t%at demonstrates, in a uni3ue )ay, t%roug% %is o)n frustration )it% t%e %ealt% system. His lac1 of $o)er is in a sense more %uman, because t%is em$at%izes to)ard e+ery indi+idual )%o may %a+e felt t%is )ay in t%e e+ent of illness. 0erris a$$roac%es t%ese e+eryday life e.$eriences )it% genuine frustration. One can +i+idly see t%e lac1 of $o)er a $atient feels )%ilst in a %os$ital and %o) t%ey are de4$ersoni5ed during t%e %os$italization. 6ut %o) )ould you feel,Angry, frustrated, betrayed and alone in a system t%at ignores t%e +ery $eo$le it cares for7 &n order to fully e.$lore t%e conte.ts of /im 0erris8 $oems, it is im$ortant to loo1 at di9erent systems in )%ic% disabled $eo$le are grou$ed. -%e 0unctional, t%e :ocio$olitical and t%e biomedical model. -%e 0unctional model is concerned to)ards t%e indi+idual, t%e disability and t%e functions of t%at indi+idual. One of t%e $rimary $roblems is t%at it is only a+ailable for adults, )%ilst segregating t%e elderly and c%ildren from t%e system. An additional ;a) is t%e s$ace for discrimination in t%e system as it focuses to)ards t%e $atients, 5nancial situation, )%ic% isolates t%e $oor $atient. -%e :ocio$olitical model claims t%at disability is not t%e $roblem* it is actually t%e lac1 of ci+il rig%ts for t%e disabled. &t see1s for a social c%ange as by t%e im$lementation of la)s to sto$ t%e disabled indi+idual from %a+ing t%eir rig%ts re+o1ed and from being seen as a minority grou$. ob to do. Aou8ll go on to many ne) o$erations* soon, you )on8t e+en remember t%at leg. Det alone t%at boy. -ears and $ain are standard o$erating $rocedure... ?:tandard O$erating Procedure@. -%e $atient understands and internalizes t%e distance and e+en t%oug% a surgical $rocedure is im$ortant for t%e indi+idual it is only anot%er $rocedure for t%e doctor. -%is of course is also ta1en to t%e disabled li+es. -%is $art of t%e $oem is one of t%e most direct criti3ues for t%e %os$ital system and fully e.$lains %o) %e felt during t%e time.Anot%er im$ortant as$ect to be considered in t%e analysis of t%e %os$italization e.$erience is t%at of t%e communication issues, mentioned earlier. :ince t%e distance bet)een t%e medical sta9 and t%e $atients is so great. :ome $atients could feel t%at t%ey,re being ob>ecti5ed as meat, only to be $racticed and e.$erimented on.'6et)een four and 5+e t%ey bring do)n t%e meat= from reco+ery... '-%ey,+e been some$lace you can only go alone, and t%ey come bac1 coo1ed a little more4(. ?Meat Page@. -%e linguistic as$ect of t%is $oem is really interesting. :ince t%e communication bet)een t%e medical sta9 %as t%e tendency of being cold to)ards $atients feeling t%is )ay, because many times t%ey are not considered as %uman beings, most of t%e time t%ey are meat about to be cut o$en by surgeons. 'A year later an intern in green= rolls a stretc%er u$ to my bed2 & scoot= on. He stra$s me do)n. He does not tal1.( ?6efore@. -%is fragment of t%e $oem $ortrays an e.am$le t%at needs to be analyzed and considered. &f t%e medical sta9 attac%ed t%emsel+es to t%e $atients, %o) )ould t%ey end u$ emotionally after a )ee1 in t%e %os$ital7 -%e doctors and nurses %a+e to $rotect t%emsel+es and not get emotionally in+ol+ed )it% t%eir $atients. &f t%at %a$$ens t%eir >udgment )ould be clouded. -%at,s )%y %os$itals %a+e a $olicy t%at doctors are not su$$osed totreat family members. & strongly feel t%at is also im$ortant to understand t%e ot%er side of t%e coin )%en it comes to t%is to$ic. -%e distance and coldness used is need, but >ust not to t%e e.tent seen.0ear is a defense for t%e unfamiliar. Patients are facing unfamiliar $rocedures, medicines, and medical sta9 on a daily basis. Often after long $eriods of time medical sta9 and $atients start ma1ing a connection t%at is bro1en after t%e $atience lea+es. 'Eit% all t%e times &8+e been in t%is $lace,you8d t%in1 once &8d meet u$ again )it% somebody & 1ne) before ...And so & start ma1ing a $lace for myself again, learning name, faces...forgetting life outside, forgetting %ome.( ?Return to t%e Eard@. -%e se$aration and t%e di9erence bet)een %ome and a %os$ital. Home )%ere at sc%ool you are a 's$ecial( 1id, )%ereas in t%e %os$ital you are one of t%e %el$less c%ildren. Also as a teenager one ordinary fear is described in2 '%atc%et men )aiting to cut you and )%at you fear most in t%e entire )orld are t%at you8ll $o$ a boner and die embarrassed on t%is green yet sterile 5eld.( ?0ear at -%irteen@. -%is $resents t%at t%e e+eryday fears of t%e $atient are not >ust about being cut o$en nor %a+ing a reactions to meds. -%is leads to an analysis of %o) a disabled $erson sees life. -%e di9erent models mentioned earlier are often combined* t%is $ractice $roduces a $ositi+e result. Aet t%ere is still a re3uirement for la)s t%at see1 for t%e )ell being of t%e disabled and $atients in general. 0erris +ie)s disability as a $osition t%at lac1s $o)er in almost e+ery as$ect. -%ere is little to do in a society t%at sees disabled $eo$le as ill, as unfortunate or as inferior. & belie+e t%at t%e close e.$eriences )it% t%e disabled assists a $erson to understand t%at t%ere are not only t%e $%ysical as$ects to it* t%e most $ainful as$ect is t%e $syc%ological one. #isability o$ens t%e door for di9erent traumas and $ains of )%at a $erson )as able to do before, but no) cannot* sim$ly %o) to enter $lace, or to s%o)er t%emsel+es.:ystems %a+e to be analyzed in order to ful5ll t%e needs of t%e disabled. &t is truly im$ressi+e %o) a $erson )it% no arms is able to comb t%eir %air, but some of t%e $eo$le )%o are able to do t%ese t%ingsare e.$ected to do great t%ings )it% t%eir li+es, leading to li+e a life full of $ressure. &n summary t%e anger is $resent in t%e li+es of t%e disabled and t%eir careta1ers, but most of t%is anger comes from t%e %ealt% system and its lac1 ofres$onsibility for ot%er as$ects ot%er t%an t%e 'medical ones.