ONE OF THE PERSONAL STORIES TOLD ON THE TOUR AT TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM

During the day, historical tours are offered at Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. All the guides dress in 19th century nurse's uniform. One of the guides, Andrea Lamb, tells a story of a women who began her nursing career at the asylum in 1939. She told Lamb she was 18 years old. She went on to say that it was only her second day on the job, when they asked her to take one of the male patients from the regular part of the hospital to the medical center. She was told to wait. The doctor said he just needed a few minutes with the patient. The young nurse had no idea that the doctor, Dr. Walther Freeman, was the famous lobotomist who traveled around the country using an ice pick or similar tool to damage the brains of thousands of patients. The young nurse said "She did not know she was going to take that man for a lobotomy; Lamb says. "That bothered her for the rest of her life. "She brought back the perfect patient. He would feed himself, dress himself and go to the bathroom by himself, but he would never have any emotions again." Lamb concludes the chilling tale noting that as late as 1980 there were still lobotomized patients on the wards of Weston. travel@latimes.com