Thank you

Thank you

Thanks to the Cambridge Chronicle and Arlington Internist Byron Diggs for
drawing attention to the pervasive unlawful discrimination against persons with
disabilities. (BYRON R. DIGGS, Letter, "Letter-writer got it wrong," Cambridge
Chronicle, Jun 26, 2007, 28th print edition) I hope to see more.
Having intimate experience with schizophrenia Dr. Diggs surely supports
ending unlawful discrimination in providing health care to persons with
disabilities. That is the issue which began this discussion.
Thanks also to Dr. Diggs for his insights into my personal expression with
which he disagrees.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Letter: Letter-writer got it wrong
Cambridge Chronicle
Tue Jun 26, 2007, 05:36 PM EDT
Cambridge -

Roy Bercaw's enraged and nasty letter to the editor in the June 7 Chronicle
("Doctor�s bias undeniable") illustrates why his reality check keeps bouncing.
This person writes to the Chronicle often, and often unnecessarily, about
perceived threats to "persons with disabilities" from a myriad of agents, state,
local and federal, the MBTA, Cambridge, Harvard; his "enemies list" is long. Of
course, some offenses are real. But Bercaw seemingly writes of nothing else. I
note that few readers respond to his embarrassing tirades; we recognize his
letters to be a waste of time and trees.

To regain attention, he changes tactics - personal insults, distortion of what I
wrote, grandiose generalizations about doctors, journalists, et al. It is
annoying that I must defend myself against his misguided attacks; the imposed
400-word cap makes a comprehensive defense limited. Suffice to say that the
people who know me understand the ignorance of Bercaw's accusations.

In my letter to which Roy refers (Chronicle, May 31), I briefly discussed the
emergency treatment of "psych" patients in the ER, the increased risk of
violence against the patient or the staff, and the need for chemical or physical
restraint, sometimes necessary for a complete clinical assessment. My example of
an actively hallucinating, violently punching patient resisting urgently needed
evaluation and treatment is distorted by Bercaw to "' Diggs' stereotyp(ing) all
persons who arrive at the ER in an unconventional manner!" Bercaw's "example,"
"If a person with muscular dystrophy" is completely irrelevant.

For three decades, I have been an internal medicine specialist, with interest
and experience in the medical care of psychiatric patients. Several members of
my extended family were diagnosed with schizophrenia in their early 20s.

Bercaw confuses and lumps together two different situations. One scenario
involves the news of stable, mentally ill patients being �released� into the
community and met with fear, suspicion and resistance. This is prejudicial
behavior; studies show that stable, mentally ill patients are no more dangerous
than others. The second scenario involves psych patients brought to the ER.
Often, not always, such patients are unstable and dangerous to themselves and/or
staff members. The potential for violence is real, and as well designed studies
show, more likely than those in the general ER population. Bercaw�s fear of this
reality, suspicion of medical staff, and resistance to understanding what is
obvious will always remain a mystery.
BYRON R. DIGGS, MD
Arlington