Awakenings Project
AP Psychology; Awakenings 1. The abuses at Bainbridge Hospital reflected a broken system at that time. Any person who was deemed untreatable was put into a “garden”- where people were treated like flowers that were simply “watered” and “fed” every day. The attitude of the people who worked at the institution was of people who had accepted the system’s failures as a way of life; they did not strive for change, they simply “went with the flow.” Dr. Sayer introduces a number of attitudes that can be seen in modern care facilities. For example, his unfailing persistence in not giving up on patients who he believed had a chance at life. These patients had been immobile for decades, with countless people telling him that they would never get better. By believing in their cognizance and their persistent awareness of their surroundings, Dr. Sayer creates the hospital environment of today, punctuated with the idea that all patients should have the chance to have the best chance in life. He never gave up hope. However, Dr. Sayer also faced many different obstacles in attempting to treat his patients. For example, he needed to first overcome the mockery of his fellow coworkers. The doctors and nurses who worked with him did not understand his desires to pursue what seemed like a meaningless waste of time. However, in doing so, he gave life back to people who would have otherwise been trapped forever, in a state of permanent limbo. Later, he also faced the crisis of dosage with his “patient zero”, Leonard. Would he cross the line and illegally dose Leonard without the consent of the pharmacist? In doing so, he achieved success. However, he had to do so by compromising the laws set by society. Moreover, he had to muster funding for the drug for all the patients that had been affected at the institution. He could have given up after the head of the hospital told him that it was simply too much money, but he persisted in his efforts and was rewarded with enough funding for