Image provided by family.
by Dale Theresa
Health Impact News
“I feel dead.”
The words of Jonathan Sussman haunt his sister Nancy who came to Medical Kidnap with his story. In another adult kidnapping and elder abuse story, Nancy has lost custody of her brother to the State, which has allegedly committed him to a dementia facility.
It seems Jonathan is a genius who attended Harvard. He later would graduate with an honors degree in Mathematics from San Diego (even after his teenaged diagnosis of bipolar disease).
Nancy Sussman. Image by Joe Klein. (Source.)
Nancy, a prominent medical malpractice attorney who was rumored to be retired by the courts which is causing her a loss in status and clientele, was and still is Jon’s POA (power of attorney), but Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California has allegedly ignored her along with the courts in her pleas for Jon’s release. Nancy reported that Jon is being held in a locked dementia facility.
My brother age 66 is bipolar. He is non violent and never homeless. According to Mercy Hospital, he had used hospital intake too much for his medical care being that he only had Medical, and his out-patient Psychiatrist Dr. Highem only spent two minutes with him, essentially giving him his prescriptions. He is not a criminal and never had problems with the law or homelessness and lived with me. I supplied third party support. Dr. Lian felt they had enough and threatened Jonathan that if he ever appeared at Mercy Hospital again they would see it would be his last time. They did.
In August, he did not have proper follow-up in a self care facility and forgot about his lithium which necessitated hospitalization at Mercy, again. This time Dr. Lian (a …psychiatrist) planned to get a permanent conservator. Jon did not need a permanent conservator. I acted as his conservator once in his lifetime for three months. Due to a corrupt court trial (and jury trial where he was brought to Court on a gurney strapped down with a nurse and two paramedics making him appear to be ‘dangerous’ or ‘gravely disabled’), the court appointed a conservator, but would not allow me to act as Jon’s conservator, or as his attorney.
The judges were rude, loud and dishonest in regards to Jon, knowing he did not meet the criteria of gravely disabled, but they had got an agreement with Judge Stone and Judge Shore.
Nancy believes the reasons behind what she describes as “Jon’s retirement to a dementia facility” are due to her career as an attorney in which she won her clients over 33 million dollars in awards for medical-malpractice. She, in fact, sued the same Scripps Mercy Hospital on behalf of several clients, and won.
Scripps Mercy was allegedly sanctioned and lost a lot of Medicaid funding. Nancy tells us she has always fought for what was right on behalf of those who could not. She has a 33 year legal career, but says “They retired me too.”
Nancy went on to describe how she is disrespected in court by judges and even the bailiffs who command her to “shut up!”, when trying to shed light on Jon’s case. Nancy Sussman was a whistle-blower who reported several California judges for misconduct. They then began reporting Nancy as having “retired.” She doesn’t believe she is well liked and says,
“It’s all about the money for them and they unofficially retired me. I am still legally eligible and still practice law in California.”
Nancy tells us that Jonathan was functioning well on his own, but needed what is referred to as stabilization. The NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) website recommends that bipolar disorders be treated with medication and psychotherapy (also known as “talk therapy”). Jonathan is wheelchair-bound now because, the family tells us, his walker was taken away and he has developed an ulcer on his foot. Jonathan is in a dementia facility with patients who cannot speak, or interact. (NIMH page on Bipolar Disorder.)
Nancy states:
Mercy and Dr. Lian (the psycho-psychiatrist) sent Jonathan to a locked demented ward at Vista Knoll where he is surrounded by demented people who can not talk. I have tried desperately to get him out, but to no avail.
Meanwhile he lost his ability to walk as they have him strapped in a wheelchair with an ulcer on his foot. Before that he could walk very well with a walker.
He thinks he is dead as he is so depressed. He was locked up, not to protect the public, nor himself, but so he could not go back into Mercy Hospital (like he ever would). They have effectively changed a man with a brain disease into a second class citizen and shoot him up with Zyprexa, a very dangerous antipsychotic.
People do not understand that mental illness is just another form of physical illness and this type of treatment went out with one flew over the Cuckoo’s nest. He has a home and should not be there.
Not only did Jonathan graduate from college with top honors, but also worked and lived a normal life with treatment until his retirement in later years. Mercy Hospital’s actions seem to be telling the public that when they believe you are no longer viable, or have become a nuisance to their definition of “care,” they can have you placed where you can no longer bother anyone.
What Nancy wants to do is bring her brother home, and make sure that no-one is force-medicated at Scripps Mercy Hospital again.
“He was fine, never violent, nor criminally active. The family was happy and caring. Jonathan was doing well.”
Bipolar-disorder is considered to be a lifelong treatment necessity. Jon knew that and went to Scripps Mercy Hospital to get himself stabilized. When Nancy entered the hallway for check-in, she says she saw her brother being pinned down to the floor by two security guards and being shot up with Zyprexa against his will, and certainly without her permission as she was then, and is still, his legal power of attorney.
Scripps Mercy Hospital’s last words to Nancy and Jon were, “We are going to break the pattern,” as though Jon was abusing the use of the hospital. Nancy related that the hospital told her Jon was coming in too much. She further explained that Jon had only been hospitalized 30 times…in the past 47 years for various health reasons and not all of those stays were with Scripps Mercy Hospital.
Nancy is asking for help from an attorney whom San Diego cannot ignore. She is angry that her brother was forced medicated against their wills. The hospital received a citation from the Advocates Office for that action, and there is another conservatorship hearing coming up. Nancy believes she was removed as Jon’s attorney without valid legal reasoning.
Who will be the attorney who fights for Jon?
The family is allowed to visit Jon once a week. Nancy stated that since now being wheelchair-bound, Jon has begun to deteriorate “unbelievably.”
“Jonathan has been locked up at Vista Knoll for a year with dementia patients, yet he does not have dementia.”
If you or a loved one is suffering from bipolar-disorder and are hesitant to contact adult services, there are federally sponsored studies that can assist in treatment and care if you qualify. If bipolar-disorder is a part of your reality follow the links below for more information on care and some no-cost medical studies provided.
References and Sources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/labs-at-nimh/join-a-study/adults/adults-bipolar-disorder.shtml
https://namisandiego.org/services/education/
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