Mary & James's stay in Silent Hill

[what]

I have been given examples of reasons why the theory might not be right. Not a scrap detailing how it is definitely wrong, which has been your assertion all along. The burden of proof lies squarely on your shoulders to prove that it is definitely wrong. If you say it's wrong, you have to actually prove that. You have to show something, anything, at all, which says "because x is true, it is impossible that Mary ever stayed at Brookhaven".

The theory is valid on the basis that no objective evidence contradicts it, and all of the interpretations stand up to logical scrutiny, regardless of whether or not you personally believe a single one of them is a stretch. A theory needs nothing more than that.

Why don't you list your "proof" for us, right here and now? Even if you have before. That way, I can't possibly have anything more to say about it, right? Give us a recap. Explain each piece and how it serves as a factual contradiction. Leave nothing to my imagination. You could end this argument right now, if you actually had any. Go point by point, and I will address each one. Then, we can debate the actual topic, instead of whatever it is you're doing here--trying to show me up? I don't even get that.

But, remember: it has to be objective. Otherwise, you're speculating as much as I am.

Now, I've asked you this a half-dozen times at least, and why you insist on arguing semantics instead of just giving me what I want. It's not like you're tired of the argument, as you are clearly ready to sit there and repeat yourself ad nauseum, so what explanation is there for your inability to produce the smoking gun you insist you have?

Do everybody else in this thread a favor and don't bother responding to this post unless you can address this. I don't give a rat's ass about whatever objections you have to the theory, or to me. I just want to see you finally present your case, assuming one exists to present.

[Augophthalmoses]

There's no need to provide a "list" right here and now when anybody level headed enough knows one can go back and actually, you know, read throughout the topic. It's redundant. We both know you don't have short term memory loss that you can't recall what's being said in this topic Seeing as how you continue to respond to each post it clearly shows you can still read.It's merely a case of you playing games again as is your modus operandi.

Try a little harder next time. You're not the only troll to fall back on the silly "if you don't fulfill this one little request of mine you automatically forfeit the debate" card. So I don't know why you get the impression you're anybody special because of it.

[R08813]

I don't have a lot to suggest at this point but just to clear things up.

Why would the hospital Mary was at locally go through that much trouble to confine Mary to a mental hospital in Silent Hill?

Because it's the last wish of Mary, a dying patient.

Another interesting thing to note is Maria’s reaction to the [otherside], specifically on the first floor. On any floor, in every other room, Maria acts normally: a blank stare, straight ahead, or at James. The first floor, however, coming off of the elevator, Maria acts noticeably different. (Keep in mind, too, that you never have to take Maria to the first floor, but if you do, you have the chance to see her act—more importantly: react—in a way you can’t see elsewhere.

With her back to James, her face to the wall, it seems there’s something about the first floor she doesn’t want to see or be reminded of.

I found this in the original thread so I'm assuming what I'm about to say has never been mentioned before. When you first enter the hospital with Maria, before dropping her in Room S3, if you bring her to the second floor, you would notice she reacts the same. I'll show you the picture and the exact location:

http://i53.tinypic.com/23syo1s.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/676vmb.jpg

[Augophthalmoses]

Thing is there is no evidence suggesting that was one of her dying wishes. That would also go against her constant wishing to go back to Silent Hill.

[what]

Here is my list of your "proof", and why none of it actually is.

• The theory has no backing with all the "evidence" being nothing but speculation.
  A speculative theory is not wrong merely because it is speculative. This bit of 'proof' ends up being repeated in basically every post of his.
• 1. All Mary's talks to Laura about wishing to return to Silent Hill wouldn't make sense upon being in Silent Hill.
  [b]Mary wasn't in Silent Hill when she told Laura she wanted to return. A mistake due to you not reading the theory.
• 2. Brookhaven is a hospital focused on mental treatment.
  Mary displays obvious clinical symptoms of depression, one of the most common mental health issues in terms of treatment.
• 3. Moving Mary to a separate hospital just to cope with depression wouldn't make any sense and would just be far too inconvenient. Plenty of people experience grief and sorrow in hospitals upon their death bed. Hospital already would (and should) know how to cope with such measures without suggesting relocation to a separate hospital.
  I guess 'proof' is when he thinks his speculation is better than someone else's.
• 4. James doesn't say anything at all in the game about her staying in Brookhaven. You would think he'd give some remark about the subject.
  He would not remark about it if it was blocked out of his mind, along with all of the rest of the last three years of his life. I mean, you'd think he would remark about killing Mary every time he sees some reminder of her. Why doesn't that happen? Oh, right.
• Thing is the supposed evidence is nothing more than speculation which ultimately proves nothing. Several examples showing why this theory doesn't hold ground have already been stated and they have been ignored.
  This bit of nonsense hilariously follows my post in which I address every point he just made. Most of the rest of Verisimiltudo's "proof" is merely restating this, over and over again. The bulk of his argument is, actually, nothing but the statement of his argument, a tautological farce of epic proportions. There's been a lot of that, and much more to follow, but so far, we've not had a single example of anything factual which directly contradicts the theory. Let's continue.
• Besides, we know she experienced some quarrels with James being angry and depressed, but that's not enough reason (let alone conclusive evidence) to jump the gun and declare that she was mentally unstable enough to be moved to a Brookhaven.
  Here, Verisimilitudo shows that he is unaware that a person can enter mental health programs voluntarily, and that 'mental instability' is by no means a pre-requisite for such treatment to be given. One assumes that his knowledge of mental institutionalization comes from movies. He will later claim that he did know this. Maybe he was just joking?
• Being at St. Jerome then being moved to Silent Hill (a day and a half drive from Ashfield) would make even less sense.
  In Verisimilitudo's world, things that don't "make sense" to him are, by some magical means, objective falsehoods. Also, I believe that Ashfield is a half-day's drive away, rather than a day and a half (which would place the two locations in radically different parts of the country, and make it rather impossible for Walter to frequently commute back and forth between the two locations, as we know he did as a child).
• True, a lot of crap in the series is up for debate. But there are still quite a few things in the games that are meant to be taken as they are presented. This being one of them.
  I was not aware that Verisimilitudo's opinions were actually considered official means of interpreting the work! We're pretty deep into this now, and there's still none of that proof he insists was here and ignored by me. I'm starting to worry.
• Dude, you guys have been provided more than enough examples that paints why this theory is ridiculous. Being unable to recognize the potential flaws in this theory does not equate to it being disproven.
  So far, nothing in this thread equates to the theory being disproven.
• No matter how you slice and dice it there is still more evidence showing she didn't stay there than there is proving that she did.
  Maybe if I restate the argument over and over again, it'll magically become true!
• Several points such as James lack of any references regarding her staying there seemed to have suspiciously ignored by "what".
  Particularly funny since I did, in fact, address this issue and he apparently ignored my response. And, will again.
• Hell, at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if this was meant to be some oddball troll attempt.
  [b]The first of many attempts to paint me as a troll in order to mask the fact that his proof has still not surfaced.
• Nobody said anything about it being a place for whackos. We're saying its intended purpose is the treatment of mental problems. Mary being there wouldn't make any sense.
  Because depression isn't a mental problem, guise!
• I've given several examples why it doesn't work out. Where have you been? You been mostly ignoring all of them anyway which only further raises my suspicion of this potentially being a troll setup. I'd be a fool not to consider that a possibility given all the crazy things people do on the internet.
  A two-for-one deal! Not only do we use slander in place of a real argument, but we ignore the fact that I have, up to his point, addressed every single contrary point raised against the theory. This lie also repeats itself many times in the coming posts.
• Nothing in the game suggests her mental well being was that weak. Simply being an a-hole to James doesn't exactly jump to her having mental issues. Yeah, yeah, she was depressed and all but that alone isn't enough sufficient evidence to show she was mentally conflicted either especially being on her death bed (people having mood swings on their death bed isn't very uncommon for a lot of people given how it's a very serious situation).
  So, now, depression might be a mental illness, but she was on her deathbed and therefore it's not a big deal, so obviously, nobody would bother treating her for it.
• Attacked? She just talked like a ***** to him. Nothing tremendously serious. Nothing more than that. Having mood swings is not something that's rare among people on their death bed.
  Let's hope Verisimilitudo has no aspirations in the psychological field.
• So you kinda ignored the tidbit I brought up regarding James' total lack of any mentioning of her being at Brookhaven even upon him going there.
  Not only does he not read the theory he insists he has disproven, he's not even reading this very thread as it is ongoing. That, perhaps, explains why all he does is repeat himself.
• Oh, this mental blockage card huh? This doesn't prove anything either. I mean he's able to remember that she and him had both stayed at Lakeview and visited Rosewater, but he just happened to block out her staying at Brookhaven? Even when he still acknowledges her having a disease. Taking your idea into account that would be incredibly odd how he's able to remember her having a disease yet not knowing which hospital she was in.
  I have since addressed the fact that her disease predates James' falsified idea of when she died of disease (which really should have been obvious enough to prevent this hilarity from being typed in the first place).
• For that to have happened there would need to be some evidence proving she had stayed there in the first place. But there is none.
  And, this is basically Verisimilitudo's argument, distilled: His 'proof' that the theory is definitely wrong is the fact that I can't prove it's definitely correct. There is no allowance in his mind for my viewpoint that it is a possibility and not a certainty, even though I stated this more times than I care to count. Even Xuchilbara, who definitely does not agree with the theory, understands this and points it out to Verisimilitudo. His insistence that he has proved the theory wrong is based on something that isn't proof. At this point, he could just admit as much and the argument would end, but he's clearly trying to cultivate the image of the Internet Tough Guy, and his only recourse is to simply insist that he's right until I give up and go away.
• It just killed me considering how much you keep going on about me allegedly not reading anything you say.
  I don't think this is part of his proof, but the irony is too funny to neglect mentioning.
• If you're unable to recognize that there are several key factors in the plot that solidify that she didn't stay there (as well as common sense) that's not a problem on my part.
  I would say your failure to actually display a single one of these is a rather large problem on your part.
• Because the vast majority of the responses shooting down this theory are ones that anybody can look up upon playing the game and paying attention to the story, man.
  If this were the case, this theory would not have the acceptance it does. Acceptance is by no means unanimous, but it does have a fairly sizeable number of adherents. Which means that, whatever seems obvious to you, isn't obvious to everybody else. Besides which, it should not be up to me to disprove my own viewpoint. Why should I take you seriously if you're that lazy?
  
  After this, Verisimilitudo makes nine more posts which consist solely of him stating that the theory is wrong pretty much because he said so.
  
  So, after careful analysis of the entire thread, the total amount of conclusive, objective evidence rendering the theory invalid, offered by Verisimilitudo, is precisely nil. Others have brought up points here, and I have addressed every single one. I have not, in fact, ignored anything anybody has said.
  
  So, the bulk of Verisimilitudo's claims against me, personally, are obviously incorrect. The entirety of his claims regarding actual proof are similarly nonexistent. Therefore:
  
  "Versimilitudo can prove this theory objectively wrong beyond any doubt, and this is why:__________________"
  
  tick tock, buddy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

[Venithil]

^ Your post holds a lot of truth, What, but I seriously think you should've wrote it two pages ago, instead of continuing something that can only be compared to a trollfight.

I don't have a lot to suggest at this point but just to clear things up.

Why would the hospital Mary was at locally go through that much trouble to confine Mary to a mental hospital in Silent Hill?

Because it's the last wish of Mary, a dying patient.

Another interesting thing to note is Maria’s reaction to the [otherside], specifically on the first floor. On any floor, in every other room, Maria acts normally: a blank stare, straight ahead, or at James. The first floor, however, coming off of the elevator, Maria acts noticeably different. (Keep in mind, too, that you never have to take Maria to the first floor, but if you do, you have the chance to see her act—more importantly: react—in a way you can’t see elsewhere.

With her back to James, her face to the wall, it seems there’s something about the first floor she doesn’t want to see or be reminded of.

I found this in the original thread so I'm assuming what I'm about to say has never been mentioned before. When you first enter the hospital with Maria, before dropping her in Room S3, if you bring her to the second floor, you would notice she reacts the same. I'll show you the picture and the exact location:

http://i53.tinypic.com/23syo1s.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/676vmb.jpg

1. That's just about what I said in my post but I guess it was completely covered and surrounded by the elaborate exchange of " No, 'Tis I who is right!" and such.

2. Since I just about carried Maria all the way through the hospital, I did notice that, but never paid much attention (nurses, nurses, nurses). I guess I did not find her turning her back to James all that strange... Given everything else.

[Augophthalmoses]

See, "what"? Was that so damn hard to just go back and read? All that whining over "proof, proof, proof!" when you could easily gone back and read when you could have already done so to begin with. Anyway, moving on:

No shit it's a speculative theory. Point you keep repeatedly missing over and over is that it lacks validity because there's already enough evidence in the game that shows she didn't stay there. It's only valid if there's any potential backing behind it and nothing in its way crushing it which isn't the case here. If you're unable anybody not debunking the theory you shouldn't even be trying to argue for it in the first place. Merely saying "b-b-b-but it's speculative!" doesn't give it a magic veil protecting it from dismissal and your "evidence" claiming it's valid is nothing more than blatant BS.

I'll show you why it's false:

2. There is not enough evidence suggesting Mary was depressed to the point of being mentally unstable.
*b-b-b-but she talked about killing herself!" Yeah. She was going to die anyway and didn't really see the point of it. Not exactly an uncommon train of thought amongst people with a clinical disease, kid. Not a hard concept to grasp.
*-b-b-but she made verbal threats!" Saying "it'd be easier if they just killed me" ain't a verbal suicidal threat. And seeing as how the game never shows us anything pertaining to such things at the time she was sick and back when she was healthy it's a pointless thought that has no backing. She never outright tells us she's going to kill herself or requests any such thing. There's a fine line between somebody living a healthy, normal life and developing suicidal tendencies for whatever reasons as displayed by your list and somebody not seeing the point of going on living when they're about to die anyway. Your idea is jumping the gun and going by that logic we may as well go ahead and proclaim that every person who displays any depression about dying and/or being unwilling to live as being "suffering from mental problems". Even if any of that nonsense were true it still doesn't prove she was moved to Brookhaven. Modern hospitals these days have preparations for that sort of thing...because, you know, they deal with a lot of dying patients...and patients on their deathbed having difficulty accepting it is a normal thing. This isn't complicated stuff to get a hold of, dude.
3. Uh, you didn't exactly come up with anything that combated that point I brought up...probably because it's true with today's hospitals and you can't exactly come up with something to argue against it.
4. There is no evidence suggesting he mentally blocked it out. That would be rather stupid that he is somehow able to recall her having a disease yet not remembering a thing about the hospital. Plus, in the game he doesn't exactly question Laura about her meeting Mary in the hospital or anything...probably because (duh) he already knows she was in the hospital.

Damn, boy see how very easy that was to shoot down all those points you brought up?

As for your rest of the bullshit you typed up I chuckled heartedly. You're trying WAY too hard with your little self reassurance tactics that it's just facepalm worthy. Now comes the part where you continue ignoring every retort pertaining to the numbered bullets and keep claiming how I'm "living in my own little world" just because I didn't buy into a obscenely false theory that has no backing regardless of how much you cry "speculative" every time one of the points you raise is shot down. For all your little claims of "you haven't proven anything!" you haven't exactly proven how this theory is valid either.

I promise you: You will live. You will not have a heart attack and collapse. You will be able to go to sleep soundly at night and wake up in the morning without throwing a little hissy fit over not getting your precious one up on the internet.

So chill the hell out and act your age for a change.

[what]

2. There is not enough evidence suggesting Mary was depressed to the point of being mentally unstable.
*b-b-b-but she talked about killing herself!" Yeah. She was going to die anyway and didn't really see the point of it. Not exactly an uncommon train of thought amongst people with a clinical disease, kid. Not a hard concept to grasp.
*-b-b-but she made verbal threats!" Saying "it'd be easier if they just killed me" ain't a verbal suicidal threat.

And seeing as how the game never shows us anything pertaining to such things at the time she was sick and back when she was healthy it's a pointless thought that has no backing. She never outright tells us she's going to kill herself or requests any such thing. There's a fine line between somebody living a healthy, normal life and developing suicidal tendencies for whatever reasons as displayed by your list and somebody not seeing the point of going on living when they're about to die anyway.

Outright threats are taken more seriously, but outright threats aren't necessary to cause concern that a person might be potentially suicidal. If anything, the fact that her life expectancy was so short makes her more of a risk because she doesn't have as much to lose, and her short life expectancy would not preclude her from receiving treatment. Perhaps you might have the attitude that death is death, who cares if she does it herself, but medical professionals tend not to look at it that way. To ignore that sort of thing in a person, even if they have a terminal illness, would be medically neglectful (and would open the door to lawsuits).

Your idea is jumping the gun and going by that logic we may as well go ahead and proclaim that every person who displays any depression about dying and/or being unwilling to live as being "suffering from mental problems".

Uh, yeah, people who are depressed to the point where they feel like dying are suffering from mental problems? Do you think that kind of behavior is normal?

Even if any of that nonsense were true it still doesn't prove she was moved to Brookhaven.

Never said it did, but it is an acceptable reason for one to receive treatment in a psychiatric environment. Since I have never insisted that she definitely did stay at Brookhaven, what precisely am I supposed to be proving?

Modern hospitals these days have preparations for that sort of thing...because, you know, they deal with a lot of dying patients...and patients on their deathbed having difficulty accepting it is a normal thing. This isn't complicated stuff to get a hold of, dude.

Again, if you ever bothered to read the theory, you'd know that the other justification for her going to Brookhaven as opposed to some other random hospital is that it a: provides psychiatric care she needs, and b: is in Silent Hill, which is her favorite place in the world, and is a place she wanted to visit once more while she still had the chance. Since James was avoiding her, he could not take her. This is the only way she could go, and such requests are honored in certain circumstances, such as when a patient is terminal and near the end of their life.

I'm afraid your gross misconceptions don't prove a single thing.

3. Uh, you didn't exactly come up with anything that combated that point I brought up...probably because it's true with today's hospitals and you can't exactly come up with something to argue against it.

4. There is no evidence suggesting he mentally blocked it out. That would be rather stupid that he is somehow able to recall her having a disease yet not remembering a thing about the hospital. Plus, in the game he doesn't exactly question Laura about her meeting Mary in the hospital or anything...probably because (duh) he already knows she was in the hospital.

After all the effort I went through to make sure I didn't miss anything you had to say, you still can't even read a point I stated and restated. The last three years of his life have been blocked out. This is solid, undeniable fact. Anything that would happen in that timeframe would be blocked out as a consequence, no matter what it is. Her disease predates that three year timeframe... it would have to, otherwise, she wouldn't claim the disease killed her.

Had to put that in a bright color so you can't ignore it again.

Now, where was that objective, factual proof I asked for? All I got were your opinions, half of them based on your inability to read what I wrote, the other half based on your misunderstanding of basic psychiatric care.

Had to put that in a bright color so you can't ignore it again. I even defined "objective" for you so you could actually get it right. None of your points were even slightly objective, nor were any based on anything factual.

Therefore, the theory is undeniably valid and has withstood your "intellectual rigor", if that's the term it really deserves. I don't even care what you have to say past this point, because I expect nothing better than I've gotten. Your attempts to disprove the theory have failed utterly. The idea that Mary did not stay at Brookhaven is valid, as well. Equally valid. But, it's not a fact. What we have are two different interpretations of equal weight.

[Augophthalmoses]

Dude, you can put as much red on that paragraph as you want, but there's is no evidence anywhere in the game proving James mentally blocked out her being at Brookhaven. Try harder, kid. Hell, you can even put it in bold and type in all caps if you feel that doing so somehow gives that jargon more "authority" or "backing". Still isn't gonna change the fact nothing in the game supports this claim.

You keep whining about how you need "objective proof" for anybody to debunk your theory. However, the thing you keep intentionally ignoring (gee, what a shocker) is that you never do come up with any "objective proof" to show why this theory is valid whilst simultaneously either brushing retorts off or responding to them with hairbrained excuses that make even less sense. You keep hiding behind the "b--b-but it's speculation" copout response as a means to cope for your theory not having any legitimate evidence backing it up. All the things you have brought up are either wild exaggerations backed up by nothing (Mary being mentally troubled) or speculation with no evidence backing it up (Mary being moved to Brookhaven upon request).

Again, you're not the only troll to try such tactics. You can keep coming with as many "well, maybe..." excuses as you like but at the end of the day there are too many hints it game that make pure common sense that Mary never stayed at Brookhaven.

Try harder, chief.

[ERROR]

What are those hints again? I don't think you ever stated them.

[what]

Only trolls ask people to show their evidence when they claim to have it. What's wrong with you.

He just left it in his other pants.

[Augophthalmoses]

Only trolls ask people to show their evidence when they claim to have it.

That's why you're called a troll. Don't want to be labeled as one? Stop acting like one.

And a protip: the new little sig and rank of yours isn't exactly going to upset me. On the contrary all it shows is that all this has apparently been irking you more than you care to let on. But nice attempt...I guess.

[what]

Only trolls ask people to show their evidence when they claim to have it.

That's why you're called a troll. Don't want to be labeled as one? Stop acting like one.

And a protip: the new little sig and rank of yours isn't exactly going to upset me. On the contrary all it shows is that all this has apparently been irking you more than you care to let on. But nice attempt...I guess.

For the first time in this entire thread, you're right. The best jokes really do write themselves!

[Kyle Purrenhage]

I had been under the impression that Mary hadn't stayed at Brookhaven. (I almost typed Krookhaven for a second, bah.)
Now you know I don't remember that much about the map of the hospital; but I was under the impression that were different wards, like a maternity ward and so forth. So that must mean that other patients could have stayed there, not limited only to the mentally ill. But maybe I'm thinking about the first game with Alchemilla hospital? I'm not sure, so don't take my word for it. I'm probably mixing up the two hospitals for all I know. I do know that Brookhaven was the hospital for the mentally ill though.

I really see it unlikely that Mary was mentally ill. She was simply scared because she knew she was dying and she also knew that there was no help for her whether anyone would admit it to her or not; that would make anyone depressed. I don't know what you think, but that's what I think. When you're depressed you're not always thinking right. You don't always think about your family or anybody during that time; it's just the constant feeling of, "I'm not getting out of this situation, am I?" And death was something Mary really couldn't avoid. She probably felt trapped by the disease and miserable about not getting better, and so it led to her subsequent anger at James. Even when Maria says to him, "You're supposed to take care of me" it made me think of Mary's frustration and how she really wanted James to help her. But later she knew she was fooling herself because if the doctors couldn't save her, James certainly couldn't either... She had hope one minute, and then she lost that hope. People have to have hope and they have to be foolish enough to believe that death is something they can evade. The force of life is simply too strong in people. So it doesn't sound too odd for her to be slipping in and out of hope and lack of hope so easily. You don't have to be mentally ill to be depressed one minute and hopeful the next. Being sick is depressing, and sometimes you tell yourself you want to die, but you don't really want to die. You just don't want to be sick anymore.

[OneFreeMan]

there's is no evidence anywhere in the game proving James mentally blocked out her being at Brookhaven.

1. Well if he mentally blocked out the fact he killed his wife its highly probable that he blocked out what hospital she went to.

2. Does it really matter. I mean it's only video game. Its a work of fiction. Don't get me wrong I love Silent Hill and everything in it. But I don't see how whether or not Mary stayed in brookhaven really matters.

[ERROR]

>>I really see it unlikely that Mary was mentally ill.<<
>that would make anyone depressed.<
Depression is a mental illness. Why do people have such a hard time understanding this? Hospitals focusing on treatment for the mentally ill are not like the movies, they aren't all One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Friends of mine have been hospitalized for depression. They aren't drooling, babbling "crazies," but they are mentally ill because depression is a mental illness.

[Wren]

<post deleted due to the concern being moved to PM>

[what]

Apologies all around, but I'll mind my business and you should mind yours.

If you really feel the need to address me about something not related to the topic of this thread, there's always private messaging.

[Augophthalmoses]

>>I really see it unlikely that Mary was mentally ill.<<
>that would make anyone depressed.<
Depression is a mental illness. Why do people have such a hard time understanding this? Hospitals focusing on treatment for the mentally ill are not like the movies, they aren't all One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Friends of mine have been hospitalized for depression. They aren't drooling, babbling "crazies," but they are mentally ill because depression is a mental illness.

Nobody in this topic has even said anything about mental hospitals being a wacko house. Here's the deal:
Your regular hospital deals with a lot of dying patients and depression is a very common thing upon your deathbed. Death is obviously a very serious situation for everybody more so for Mary because she's at such a young age and it comes about out of nowhere. Merely having a hard time accepting it isn't exactly grounds to label her as having a mental illness. That's just nonsense. If that were the case we could call anybody expressing the slightest bit of sadness as having a mental problem. That sort of concept is not logically feasible.

[what]

Merely having a hard time accepting it isn't exactly grounds to label her as having a mental illness. That's just nonsense.

That's the problem, though: to you, 'mental illness' is a term which should only apply to the more extreme examples, believing that the more common and less severe forms deserve neither the term 'mental illness' nor special treatment for it. In reality, a psychiatric hospital will admit, and treat, patients with depression even if the depression is not strictly clinical.

The theory does not purport that her stay at Brookhaven is designed to specifically address her mental illness, because that is clearly not necessary. It purports that Brookhaven serves as an ideal environment for a patient in her condition who wants to spend some of her final days in her favorite place. If she goes to Brookhaven, it's not because anybody has any illusions that it will cure her depression, but because it has the facilities to accommodate her physical condition while allowing her to spend time in an environment which is much more relaxed and and much less confining than a medical hospital. It's the closest Mary can possibly get to having a vacation, a parole from constant reminders of encroaching mortality which her usual medical hospital must seem to her. The attention a place like Brookhaven would give to her mental well-being is a bonus, but the real point is that being in her 'special place' will do even more good for her on that front. Without a doubt, their allowing her to spend time at home is also a part of that. They're simply trying to make her last days as pleasant as possible.

It shouldn't be any stretch to believe such an arrangement is possible, either. A persuasive doctor can easily arrange for such accommodations, in the short term, at least. This is something I know from personal experience.