Saturday, April 25, 2020

Part 3 23 year old Incracerated man dies

Another man in my housing unit who worked in the dining hall had to be taken to Health Care in the middle of the night and placed in quarantine, because of advance COVID-19 symptoms. He reportedly complained to Health Care staff for help twice and was returned to the housing unit without care.

This morning as I finished my final rounds of writing, I learned that yet another man in the housing unit next door, who worked in the dining hall serving people their food was exhibiting advanced symptoms of COVID-19  and taken to Health Care.

According to people with direct knowledge about the situation people reportedly informed staff about the man's condition during the past week out of concern for him because they heard him repeatedly coughing , but Health Care staff never evaluated him.

Refusing to evaluate someone or sending him back to his unit after receiving COVID-19 evaluation to shed the virus and potentially infect dozens of other incarcerated people and staff members is woefully incompetent , inhumane and medically malpractice. In legalese it is also referred to as deliberate indifference to a serious medical need.

Several people has made numerous attempts to receive care for Covid-19 test who has been denied because they didn't exhibit a fever , only to fall seriously ill days later and require hospitalization due to the virus.

According to a source with hand knowledge, there were recently over 30 incarceration people receiving care at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital in Jackson, Michigan who have tested positive for COVID 19 of that number 17 of them were on ventilators.

One can't help but wonder how many of those people made repeated  requests for care before descending into such a dire state of Health. This is a matter that richly deserves to be explored by legal counsel and lawmakers to see if it could have been prevented.

Several people have asked me how I am doing mentally and emotionally. The truth is I am exhausted This experience is taking a heavy toll on every incarcerated person fighting tireless to protect their lives Remaining hypervigilant is grueling for those who know they must muster all their energy to keep fighting to stay healthy.

It's been tough hearing my mother's tears on the phone telling me can't stop worrying or thinking about me as she see the rising number of people testing positive for COVID-19 at this prison and around the state. It also been tough talking to my wife about this experience and trying to keep our young 10 year old daughter from going stir crazy in the house because of the Governor's stay home stay safe order.

  At the end of the day I know I must keep sharing the stories of our experiences inside prison, particularly for those who have no voice or platform to tell their own stories. People are enduring hardship every day. They are experiencing worry , feeling disoriented and overwhelmed. Many are also grieving the loss of loved ones who succumbed to COVID-19 and died alone in a hospital, because they could not have visitors.

PART 3                                                                               .