The Shadow
Dear Editor,
I’m writing this in concern for the inmates in our county jail, Alleghany Regional Jail in Covington, to be exact.
It has been brought to my attention how medical needs go without being met for the inmate’s actual condition. I understand they are in there for wrongdoing, but that does not entitle them to being neglected.
Pain goes without treatment; meds are not always given; heart attacks are treated like heartburn. Not everyone’s health conditions are the same, and some are more life-threatening than others.
Under the 8th Amendment, it gives the inmates rights to proper medical care for their condition, as not all conditions are the same.
Also, why are meds being “floated” (dissolved in liquid) before being given? Not all meds can be done this way as they can lose effectiveness. Also, how does the inmate know if they are receiving all their meds or even the right meds at that?
I know my child’s life depends on her meds daily, as she is terminally ill, and they do have the documents of proof on her medical condition.
She has been taken to the hospital twice since being there and both times has been given discharge papers to see her liver doctor, and they have failed to make that appointment for five months.
Many of her cellmates have called me personally to inform me about her being in severe pain or retaining fluid, and all they do is give her medicine to keep her from throwing up or Tylenol.
In the past month, she has been in severe pain, with fever, fluid retaining, shaking and high blood pressure, and they have done nothing, or if they decide to, she has to wait two or three days. She suffers from end stage cirrhosis, so these symptoms are life-threatening.
I’ve tried talking to them, as I am her medical power of attorney, and they refuse to give me any information or even listen to my concerns.
Last time she was in there, she had a complete TIPS blockage, and they would not send her out to be seen. She had to deal with fluid build-up for four months before I could take her personally to her doctor who admitted her immediately.
Someone needs to please help before someone dies in there due to negligence. This town seems to go by their own set of rules and not by the actual state and federal laws.
Anything I have written in this letter can be founded if contact with former or present inmates with medical conditions are contacted. As with my daughter, these inmates have family, friends and loved ones who care deeply for their well-being and should not be home worrying about playing God with someone’s life, because in my case I am mentally tormented for my daughter’s life.
I look for this letter to cause some sort of retaliation toward my daughter and family, if not both from the police force here, as that is what they do in this town.
This isn’t the only system which neglects their inmates, but it is the one I personally have dealt with first-hand, and I will stand up for my daughter.
Copies of this letter have been mailed to the appropriate people and organizations, for I am seeking justice for inmates who are human and deserve to be treated as such. How would they feel if their children or loved ones were treated like this?
Sincerely,
April R. Fox
Long Avenue, Covington
