Andrea Yates R.N.

Fuzzy · Jul 28, 2006

Having been psychotic and a danger to myself and others is very scary and confusing. Your demons are telling you things, you feel bigger than you are, you do weird and sometimes really bad, bad things....and then you wake up. OMG what have you done. The devestation and damage in your wake is frightening. I've been there. I hope that I never have to go back.

Andrea Yates murdered her childern during post partum psychosis. That is a fact. Her childern died inhumanly and slowly another fact.

Rusty made things worse by keeping is mentally ill wife barefoot, pregnant, and isolated. This poor woman was expected to care for 5 young childern, including home schooling the older ones mostly on her own. Her MIL would come to help sometimes but only when Andrea had already floated off the deep end. I see Rusty as one of those zealots who feel that the more childern his has means a higher place in heaven. Quite a few religeons train their men that way.

Andrea needed help then and she needs help now. She deserves the same type of help that John Hinckly Jr. is receiving for his attempt on Reagan's life. Anyone remember that? Jody Foster was "telling" John Hinckly to kill President Reagan. He has been in a mental institution for along time. Like Andrea, I doubt that he will be released. Andrea most likely will never be free again. Even if Andrea were sentenced to prison or death she would still receive treatment for her mental illness. The prison sysytems usually send people who are severely mentally ill to a state mental institution anyways. Likewise, Andrea would have to be considered sane before she could receive the needle. Cases like these have already gone through the Supreme Court and have been ruled on. I'm sure that most days Andrea wishes that a vigalanty lynching would happen so she would not have to continue to live her life. She has alot of guilt even more now after this tragedy.

I've been in a state mental hospital. I didn't find it "cushy" at all. They are very frightening places. I can't even imagine what it would be like in the forensic unit which is where Andrea would most likely be placed.

The childern are tragically gone. Andrea is gone also. Funny how the husband Rusty still has a life. He had a hand er. member in this tragedy also.

Fuzzy

LydiaNN · Jul 28, 2006

Yep, good old Rusty, he ''doesn't dwell on it''.... Isn't it nice that he remembers his children fondly, though?

kellyo, LPN · Jul 28, 2006

I watched Andrea Yates on ABC last night as she was being "examined" by the psychiatrist for the prosecution. She cried and said "I'm the most hated woman in the world." I found my self crying too, and saying out loud "I don't hate you." For the first time, I felt very sorry for this woman. No one should have left this woman alone with her children. If she knew that she had a 1 hour window to kill her children, then so did her husband. Rusty Yates should have a wrongful death suit filed against him.

sunnyjohn · Jul 28, 2006

I always thought there was something wrong with this guy. This really settles it for me. He is sick, too. Those poor kids never had a chance.

Rusty may not be crazy, but I honestly think he has been SERIOUSLY brainwhased by a religious group pretending to spread true Christianity and family values.

As a Christian, I always warn people about accepting, "any wind of doctirne."

I hope he gets help and discovers the truth of the faith.

KellNY, RN · Jul 30, 2006

NJ--Calling a maximum security mental hospital for the criminally insane "Club Med" would be laughable if it weren't so rediculously WRONG.

1st of all, she'll be watched, monitored and restricted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week--staffed with not only mental health experts but police and law enforcement officers. Visitation is severely restricted. This isn't a "go to all your therapy sessions this week and you can go on an outing to the fair on Sunday!" or "Get 50 'good behavior' points and you'll be allowed to go on the daily walks to Borders" This is hardcore stuff. If she is to leave the property (medical emergency, etc) she will be shackled and cuffed like a regular prisoner. This isn;t a freaking vacation for her.

2nd of all, statistically, MOST people who get the Insanity verdict are actually in state/federal custody for much longer than if they had been found straight up guilty. It's not an easy out, get out of jail free card.

3rd--That her rational thought should have returned after she killed one child nonsense?!? What?? That's like saying an epileptic should stop seizing after the 1st episode, or after a certain amount of time. Even after killing her 5 children she lacked the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. She thought that she was possessed. Have you ever witnessed a psychotic episode? They can take days to resolve, and as you may know, some never resolve--they are a life long struggle.

4th--You think you're gonna get away from these types of issues in maternity? Think again sweetie--try numerous drug addicts who test positive for crack right before they deliver, meanwhile they have 5 other kids who all live with different people (grandparents, uncles, foster care, adopted out, etc), oh yeah and she's 19. Or the one who has CPS waiting down the hall so that the minute that baby is born, they can take it away because she beat the mess out of her other kids? Or the one with 3 psych Dx's who's on 8 diff psych meds (incl Haldol and Klonopin while preg.) who's been pregnant 24 times and only has 3 live kids--the rest were aborted, stillborn or died of "SIDS"? Or the mother who had PPD with her last and is now so un-nerved about this one that she begs you notto leave her alone with the baby? Yeah, have fun in maternity where mental illness doesn't affect you or your patients.

This is very disheartening. Mental illness is just that--a freaking illness. It's not a switch that you turn on and off at will, and it's not nearly as easily treated and monitored as, say, hypertension or diabetes. All you nurses should know that. If not, you're either extremely closed minded, or your schools failed miserably in the Psych aspect of your nursing education. Either way, it's just so sad.

begalli · Jul 30, 2006

I watched Andrea Yates on ABC last night as she was being "examined" by the psychiatrist for the prosecution. She cried and said "I'm the most hated woman in the world." I found my self crying too, and saying out loud "I don't hate you."

My feelings too.

My family has experienced the loss of a child. It's debilitating.

I don't believe Andrea will ever be well. There's no way. If they are able to treat her with meds and intensive therapy, just the realization of her children gone and attempting to live with that will take her right back there.

I hope that made sense. There is no way I can hate her.

What a horrible, horrible fate for this woman and for her beautiful children.

sanctuary, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

NJ--Calling a maximum security mental hospital for the criminally insane "Club Med" would be laughable if it weren't so rediculously WRONG.
1st of all, she'll be watched, monitored and restricted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week--staffed with not only mental health experts but police and law enforcement officers. Visitation is severely restricted. This isn't a "go to all your therapy sessions this week and you can go on an outing to the fair on Sunday!" or "Get 50 'good behavior' points and you'll be allowed to go on the daily walks to Borders" This is hardcore stuff. If she is to leave the property (medical emergency, etc) she will be shackled and cuffed like a regular prisoner. This isn;t a freaking vacation for her.
2nd of all, statistically, MOST people who get the Insanity verdict are actually in state/federal custody for much longer than if they had been found straight up guilty. It's not an easy out, get out of jail free card.
3rd--That her rational thought should have returned after she killed one child nonsense?!? What?? That's like saying an epileptic should stop seizing after the 1st episode, or after a certain amount of time. Even after killing her 5 children she lacked the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. She thought that she was possessed. Have you ever witnessed a psychotic episode? They can take days to resolve, and as you may know, some never resolve--they are a life long struggle.
4th--You think you're gonna get away from these types of issues in maternity? Think again sweetie--try numerous drug addicts who test positive for crack right before they deliver, meanwhile they have 5 other kids who all live with different people (grandparents, uncles, foster care, adopted out, etc), oh yeah and she's 19. Or the one who has CPS waiting down the hall so that the minute that baby is born, they can take it away because she beat the mess out of her other kids? Or the one with 3 psych Dx's who's on 8 diff psych meds (incl Haldol and Klonopin while preg.) who's been pregnant 24 times and only has 3 live kids--the rest were aborted, stillborn or died of "SIDS"? Or the mother who had PPD with her last and is now so un-nerved about this one that she begs you notto leave her alone with the baby? Yeah, have fun in maternity where mental illness doesn't affect you or your patients.
This is very disheartening. Mental illness is just that--a freaking illness. It's not a switch that you turn on and off at will, and it's not nearly as easily treated and monitored as, say, hypertension or diabetes. All you nurses should know that. If not, you're either extremely closed minded, or your schools failed miserably in the Psych aspect of your nursing education. Either way, it's just so sad.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :bow: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

chaosRN, ASN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

Wow. This is such a sad case. Apprarantely I have not been following it too closly. I felt sorry for the hubby (at first). And, I also thought that she was suffering from post partum depression (severe). I see now that all this has changes. I don't feel sorry for hubby anymore. How could he go on letting her care for the kids hallucinating & being sucidial? Who would take care of the kids if her next attempt was 'successful'?

What will she think when she is on her meds again & realizes (if she doesn't already) what she has done!!

chaosRN, ASN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

AMEN!!! Imagine what those poor children went through. Yes she chased them around the yard before killing them. I was shocked to hear that Andrea got the sentence she did. I was at work when it came over the TV and all the nurses felt the same. Wrong decision.

:bluecry1: poor kids. My heart goes out to them.

Just a question.....If psycotic & didn't know right from wrong....why did she call the police & hubby after she was done? She obviously knew she did something wrong??? (Let me apolige in advance....phych isn't my strong point!)

Fuzzy · Jul 30, 2006

poor kids. My heart goes out to them.
Just a question.....If psycotic & didn't know right from wrong....why did she call the police & hubby after she was done? She obviously knew she did something wrong??? (Let me apolige in advance....phych isn't my strong point!)

It's hard to know what goes through a psychotic person's mind. It possibly could be that her demons told her to, or that she was frightened because her demons broke their promise to leave her if she were to do this nasty deed. One thing about, we will never know her reasoning. When a person is psychotic they have no way of knowing or controlling the how's, what's, why's of their actions. Even if these actions seem to be a normal behavior that a seemingly guilty person would in that situation doesn't necessarily mean the person is sane at the time of the event. It's too easy to read that since she called for help after the murders she had control over her actions and mind before, during, and after the murders. She was regretting that she had done this awful deed. This most likely was not the case. We need to remember that this is a disease process that took place here and we cannot even understand why cancer does the things that it does, let along a diseased mind.

Remember to love the person and hate the disease. It was the disease that killed those childern---not Andrea Yates, RN.

Fuzzy

PANurseRN1 · Jul 30, 2006

You cannot presume to think that I'm not empathetic or caring towards my patients. This is COMPLETELY different. I'm going into maternity. I've had my own bouts with depression and anxiety - but I was smart enought to get myself help and medicated. Of course I was no where near hurting anyone. I was just miserable myself.
I may end up helping to deliver the babies of people who have previously harmed children, but I'm sure their faces won't be plastered over every single paper or news station all over the country and in a workplace setting, personal beliefs need to be set aside - the patient comes first.
This is SOOOO not the same thing. This is a woman who CHASED down her children with them screaming, crying and wondering why the person they loved and trusted most in the world was forcing them to a terrifying end. To heck with Andrea Yates, put yourself in the shoes of thie children and imagine what a horrifying day that was - especially for the 2 that were last - they had a cognitive idea as to what was going to happen and that had to be worst of all.

This is incredibly naive, and sad, coming from a nurse. Suffering from "bouts of depression and anxiety" is not remotely similar to someone who has a psychosis.

No one minimizes the horror her children went through, but please, be more informed about all of the ins and outs of psychotic disorders before you condemn someone.

PANurseRN1 · Jul 30, 2006

Hmmmm, what I'm really trying to say isn't conveying well. Such is the downside of message boards.
I could see if she was having a psychotic moment and killed one child. But why did not rational thought kick in after that before the 2nd, or 3rd, 4th, or 5th. THEN she had the rational thought to call 9-1-1 - how very considerate of her. So she was considered psychotic to have killed 5, but not psychotic because she *suddenly* had a conscience after the fact to notify the authorities? Everything was too calculated for it to be really psychotic. I've done psych rotations in a facility that houses the criminally insane. None of them went on to kill several people at once. Usually it was one, maybe 2 (if it was man/woman or a wrong place/wrong time person there), but in her case all of the things just don't add up completely.
Yes, she's insane. She's insane for doing what she did in the manner that she did, but I don't believe she was completely *psychotic* during the murder of all 5 children and that STILL doesn't excuse our legal system to basically allow her to hang out in a "club med" while she gets "therapy" for why she did this. What a slap in the face to the memories of those children..........
A sad day it is.

Sigh...because psychotic breaks are not time limited. Because people in the midst of a psychotic break aren't capapble of just "snapping out of it."

If you are going into maternity, please, please, please get yourself educated about post-partum depression and psychosis. You will not be an effective maternity nurse if you don't have an understanding of how truly devastating these disorders can be.

"Club Med"...oh, for the love of Mike!