Sunday, May 23, 2021

MORE TRIALS IN THE DOG BOX, TRYING TO SURVIVE

 May 19, 2021

In the past couple of months, I've made several medical day trips to the Lake Butler — RMC prison hospital for tests and consultations with specialists. Four of those trips crammed me in a dog box van, with a mental hospital prisoner in the adjacent dog box, for his own safety. More on that later.

Neurologist Dr. Gama ordered an MRI of my brain in furtherance of my ''myasthenia gravis'' diagnosis. Good news — I still have one (brain), and it is fairly healthy. Bad news —I am getting old.

MRI conclusion: ''Changes of atrophy and residua of chronic small vessel ischemic change, mild, in the periventricular white matter, with concern for subtle periventricular nodularity as seen on the flair imaging. History states myasthenia gravis but would recommend clinical correlation especially if MS is a clinical consideration.

''No evidence of intracranial mass or enhancing lesion seen.''

The doctor said that the brain ''nodules'' are most likely inherited, and not a concern. Typical brain function for my age.

More concerns from the C.T. Scan. I've been complaining about a numbness and intermittent pain in my left abdomen for over a year, but the doctors have not been concerned. Here are the CT Scan results:

''The lungs are clear without evidence of consolidation, effusion, or pneumothorax. No suspicious pulmonary nodules are identified. Visualized large airways are clear. The pleura is unremarkable. Major vessels are unremarkable. The heart is within normal limits for size. Coronary artery calcifications are present. The mediastinum and bilateral hila are unremarkable except for right hilar calcified granulomas. Visualized bones and soft tissues are without acute abnormality.''

''A 3.0 cm left adrenal mass is partially imaged within the upper abdomen (series 4 image 113).''

''Conclusion: 1. No evidence of a thymoma or mediastinal mass/adenopathy.
2. Left adrenal mass measuring 3 cm, partially imaged within the upper abdomen.
3. Coronary artery disease.''

Could be worse. I have no idea what some of those terms mean.

On May 4, 2021, I was scheduled for a day trip to see the general surgeon, Dr. Baig, for evaluation of this left adrenal gland tumor. Three centimeters is slightly larger than an inch.

I was chained up and in the standard window van waiting to leave for RMC when my trip was cancelled. A mental patient had to go to a Jacksonville hospital, there was only one transport crew, so I got bumped — twice. Rescheduled.

On Tuesday, May 18, 2021, I went on my rescheduled trip in a dog van. There are two cramped compartments in the dog box van-- one for me, and one for a mental patient who had a writing pen penetrating his stomach (self-inflicted), with only a quarter inch protruding. Great. The mental patients are multiply chained like I am, except for Velcro mittens secured to their wrists to prevent them from doing damage to themselves.

News flash — the mittens don't work.

We hadn't gone far in the two-hour-plus trip when he began screaming at the guards, who could hear him fine through the steel security panels. He told them he had taken off the mittens, removed his handcuffs (he did), had a razor, was going to cut himself and paint the van red.

I talked to him, established rapport, got him talking, and thought I had talked him out of it when he said it didn't matter, he'd been planning this for some time.

There is no stopping a prison transport van, under any circumstances. The guards called ahead to Lake Butler, and an ''extraction team'' awaited our arrival. When he saw what was happening, all those huge guards ready to bum rush the dog box, he gave up peaceably. When I got out, I looked in the other side. He told the truth — he'd painted his dog box red.

I was done by nine a.m. Dr. Baig ordered more lab tests to check the adrenal function, then I will see him again. Surgery is possibly in my future, which I dread, for the interference with my current court case.

I had to wait all day for them to finish with the mental patient. I was back in my dorm by 5:30 p.m. They sent back the mental patient, too, pen still in his stomach. Exhausted and in pain from the hard ride in the dog box, I took a shower and went to sleep.

 

I'll let you know what happens. The ''authorities'' are still saying we are likely going to be transferred somewhere by June 1st. They plan to demolish all the buildings on the north end of the compound to build a hospital next to a sinkhole. My dorm, C Dorm, is the last one occupied. Sounds kinda dumb to me.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I pray this nightmare will end within the next year. All the best.

Charlie

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