She Gouged Out Her Eyes, Lost Her Teeth, And Spent Over 40 Years In A Cage
During the 19th century, mental health care was pretty much nonexistent. One woman named Rhoda Derry was a victim of poor treatment at that time.
Her insanity was left untreated, causing her to scratch out her own eyes and bash her teeth in. She ate anything she could get her hands on and spent over 40 years in a cage. Here is the sad story of Rhoda Derry.
Rhoda Derry was born on October 10, 1834, in Indiana. She grew up in an affluent farming family and was the youngest of nine children. They later moved to Illinois. Rhoda lived a happy, normal childhood until she was about 16 years old.
That was when she met a boy who lived on a neighboring farm. They struck up a relationship and planned to get married.
However, his parents did not approve of their relationship. They believed Rhoda was involved with witchcraft because of the stories about her grandmother, Mary Derry.
So, they threatened Rhoda, triggering her first mental breakdown. Soon, she told her family that an evil spirit was haunting her.
As the days went on, she became more and more unstable. When her behavior worsened, she was sent to the Jacksonville Mental Hospital.
She was deemed incurable and was returned to her parents. They tried their best to care for her, but it was all too much for them.
On September 3, 1860, Rhoda was admitted to the Adams County Almshouse. She was about 25 years old, and her records stated that she was “blind” and “insane.”
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Almshouses, also known as poorhouses, poor farms, and county homes, were tax-supported residential institutions that housed people who could not support themselves.
The Almshouse held 101 inmates, and 36 of them were considered “insane paupers.” Rhoda and the other patients were treated inhumanely.
A report from the General Assembly in 1881 detailed the dire conditions that Rhoda faced for four decades at the Almshouse.
She did not wear any clothing and was kept in a cramped wooden box filled with straw. The box reeked with her excrement, and mice built nests next to her.
She was covered in bruises from head to toe and sat with her knees clutched to her body. She remained in that position for so long that she developed muscle atrophy and could not move her legs.
She also had gouged out both her eyes and repeatedly punched herself in the mouth, knocking out all her teeth. She was unable to speak.
By 1904, Rhoda was sent to Bartonville Asylum in Peoria, Illinois, where Dr. George A. Zeller practiced. He had learned of the inhumane treatment that Rhoda experienced and vowed to take care of her. For the first time in years, she bathed daily and slept in a bed.
With Dr. Zeller’s help, Rhoda thrived for the next two years. She died on October 9, 1906, just one day before her 72nd birthday. She was buried on asylum grounds. In 1909, the asylum became the Peoria State Hospital.
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