No presidential treatment for this COVID patient!

Louie isn’t his real name. Louie is one of our whistle-blowers in the Muskegon Correctional Facility, so we’re protecting his identity. 

Louie managed to avoid the coronavirus for a while, but in that particular prison it became almost impossible. 

His story. 

I started getting a bad sore throat last week. The sore throat turned into a horrible (worst I ever had) bronchial infection. It affected my mind in such a way that extreme anxiety set in. I would sweat profusely. My heart would race. I could not breathe. I would repeatedly hyperventilate. I thought I was either having a heart attack or a stroke. I began to have panic attacks. I couldn't sleep for fear of dying. I didn't sleep for 3 days. I felt extremely light headed and claustrophobic, to near insanity. There came a time where I made my peace with God and just waited for the death which did not come. 

I begged the CO's for help. I was told to wait for a nurse to make their rounds. The first nurse instructed me to kite mental health...she thought I was just suffering from a panic attack. The second nurse barely spoke English, and didn't even report my condition to anyone. I had to chase down a male nurse, and explained that I needed help. I never heard anything back from him. I sent out 2 kites, one to mental health and one to healthcare, begging for help. I sent those kites 4 days ago and still haven't heard anything back from either of them. I have not heard from anyone period. They haven't even been by to check on me. 

I am fortunate that the Lord spared me. I am sore all over. Friday afternoon I finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. The claustrophobic feelings and anxiety let up quite a bit, and the other symptoms began to let up as well. The fever finally broke last night. I am much better today (9 days from when it started). 

I was a very healthy person. I finished 2nd on the compound last year in the power-lifting competition at 53 years old. I work out 4x a week. I don't say this to toot my own horn. I say this to show how badly it affected a very healthy individual. How much worse would the older and less active guys have it? 

On the heels of national news coverage this week, it seemed appropriate to show the contrast between presidential treatment for the virus, i.e. helicopter transportation to a major hospital, a team of specialists, and extensive medication including experimental drugs. 

Not quite the same for a hurting, ailing, lonely inmate in the Michigan prison system. 

...remember those in prison as if you were together with them. Hebrews 13:3

 

 

Comments

Wflower2001 said…
I am never going to understand why they get treated that way.
Our Government is heartless. Pray for all the Louie and Bert's out there!
October 9, 2020 at 8:24 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to contact the author, Mark
Read more