Chronics and the Acutes

Chronics are pretty much unable to function. They are not in the hospital to get fixed; they are only there to keep them off of the streets and to keep from "giving the product a bad name". They are trapped forever in the hell that is this mental institution. They are divided into three categories: walkers, wheelers, and vegetables. Bromden falls into the walker category, which are those who can still walk and function semi-normally as long as they are fed properly. The wheelers however have lost their ability to walk, and as their name might imply, spend most of their time in a wheelchair. Then there are the vegetables that have lost all of their ability to function anything aside from their autonomous bodily functions. Also there are patients who are referred to as Acutes. These patients are in a much better state of mind than the Chronics. Acutes still have a chance of being saved, however in this institution it is extremely unlikely. The worst fault of this hospital is that the staff have turned Acutes into Chronics by using electro-shock therapy and turned a once near healthy patient into a complete vegetable. The Acutes and the Chronics aren't all that different, because in this hospital nobody is getting out.

Written by: Keagan Carpenter