(Chuck Felton Comments)
Joe Marhefka was a patient at the san from June 7, 1962 to January
8, 1963. His 7 months and 1 day stay might seem pretty short to most of us, but obviously not to Joe.
During that time he kept a journal, presented below, which consisted of 37 pages typed by his 8 year old daughter Marlene
and 15 pages in his own handwriting. The journal is presented just as Marlene typed it, including the typos and corrections
one would expect from a young girl practicing her typing.
Joe's
journal shows lots of frustration with the lack of information by the doctors and the slow pace of progress. But he was
not alone in that regard as this was a common complaint among all the patients. When you see it put on paper, it
might make Joe seem fixated on the topic. But he just put in writing what we all talked about every day.
Not once in my 16 months at the san did I ever see any of my x-rays or charts. Everything was verbal from the doctors.
I was only seventeen with no family responsibilities, so I could relax and just put in my time until I was discharged.
But it was much tougher on men with families who constantly worried and fretted about when they would be discharged.
Joe's journal just proves that point!
Aside from the discharge theme, Joe describes many of the daily routines at the san as well as mentioning many
patients and staff by name, all of which are interesting details. His mention of the Cuban missile crisis is an
interesting historical note.
