6-16-19

Dear Reader,
Hey. I hope you're doing well!

Today's story took place in 2011 or 2012.

I was sitting in my cell, writing a letter or something. I can't quite remember. My body started to ache. The ache became most prominent in my jaw and neck. I started to lose control of it and the muscles were contracting on their own.

I told the Sgt. and declared a medical emergency. That's the only way to see a nurse. Otherwise, I'd have to fill out a sick call and that can take 4-8 days to get seen. She (we'll call her Nurse May) came and said I was fine. TO just take some ibuprofen and try to relax.

About an hour goes by, and it's gotten real bad. It's about 1:30 AM now. My lower jaw muscles are fully engaged along with my throat and neck, shoulder, chest, abdomen, and arm muscles. All only on the left side. My left arm is stuck, bent at the elbow. My lower jaw is jutted forward, and I'm crunched forward in a seated position. I had to use my right arm (which was fine) to push my jaw back. I leaned back to flatten my back against the wall so I could breathe. I fought this for hours.

The Sgt. working at that time called Nurse May several times to come help, but she refused.

The last thing I remembered was looking at my radio. Its clock said 5:02 AM. I passed out.

I was awakened by an officer on the next shift close to 8:00 AM. Breakfast was late.

I told the day nurse and saw the doctor. He said I had a side effect to the medication he put me on. Severe dystonia. He said Nurse May was supposed to give me a shot of congentin or Benedryl. And that I was lucky to be alive because severe dystonia can be fatal. Can cause suffocation. Hence me passing out. I got lucky.

So, I grieved this issue. That Nurse May didn't follow protocol, and I almost died because of it. The day nurse and doctor looked for the medical assessment for my emergency, and there wasn't one. Nurse May didn't even do one. So, if I died, there would have been no record of what happened to me.

This was the norm for death row prisoners. And as far as I know, up until 2016, it still is.

I grieved that Nurse May didn't assess this situation and, lo and behold, a medical assessment popped up two weeks later. She back-dated it.

Everyone involved said if I was able to get this into court, they'd testify on my behalf. I wrote many law firms to no avail. Even asked the Florida Bar and the Florida Legal Institute for help. Rejected. The Florida Bar said they didn't have anyone in the area. :! And the Florida Legal Institute said they didn't have the manpower or resources at the time. I tried myself, but I wasn't confident that I could succeed.

This situation drifted away.

Nurse May saw me for passing out in my cell in the past. She asked me what was my daily regiment. I told her I did 300 push ups, sit ups, squats, and calve raises 34 times a week. She said that was waaaay too much! :! And that I should listen to her because she was a military medic for 15 years.

Now, my regiment was nothing near too much. What she said was ludicrous. I was about 30 years old and in great shape at that time. The officers, who escorted me to medical, and I looked at each other like, "Wow, she reaeeally just said that."

Anyways, she kept her job. My grievance was denied.

I wonder how many death row prisoners have suffered from malpractice or negligence and died? I bet the number is shockingly high.

Until next time.

Yours truly,
Doug