| MRSA Medical Malfeasance, Yazoo Mississippi |
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| Written by Katfish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, 29 November 2009 00:49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Imagine getting a huge Staph Infection in your armpit on the 20th of October, 2009. Imagine trying to see doctors who not only refuse to hear you, but they're also highly skilled at shining you on.
I go back to Medical the next day as instructed and see Nurse Twiner. She phones Dr. Martinez at my behest. The doctor comes into the Trauma Room, sees me and says, “Oh-you.” This time she shows complete indifference. I tell her it really hurts now, the pressure is unbelievable. I ask for a prescription of bigger Ibuprofen (commissary ones are only sold in 50 lots at 200mg per pill. I'd eaten at least half the bottle over nite.) Dr. Martinez prescribes 30 800mg IBUs to pick up the NEXT day. Nurse Twiner kindly hands me 6 400mg tablets to help. Good ol' Nurse Twiner. Told to come back when pocket of infection busts.
On Halloween I AGAIN go to Medical. This time seen by Mister Ratliff. He and he alone provides me with adequate dressings and answers questions I had pertaining to the what, when, where, why and hows of this painfully horrible infection. I told him I planned on filing a grievance on Medical. Ratliff also saw me on Sunday, November 1st, 2009. He again provided me with adequate dressings for the wound.
I am told to report daily. On Wednesday, November 4th, 2009, 25 convicts are in the waiting room for well over 2 hours while 10 medical staff members are having a fried chicken party in the backroom. Sick. Wounded. High blood pressure. Ill diabetics. All waiting for over 2 hours so staff could have a party during working hours on BOP/DOJ time. Finally seen 3 hours later for a simple bandage change.
"Correctional Medical Services has a national reputation for providing prisoners with grossly inadequate medical care," said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the ACLU's National Prison Project and lead attorney in today's lawsuit. "We believe that Correctional Medical Services' already poor reputation will sink even lower when its treatment of Mississippi prisoners with life-threatening conditions and serious mental illness is exposed to public view and judicial scrutiny." ACLU Mississippi Chapter
Contact Information ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director: Nsombi Lambright 753 N. Congress Street Jackson, MS 39202 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2242 Jackson, MS 39225 Phone: (601) 355-6464 | Email:
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Web: http://www.aclu-ms.org
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2009 02:54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At Medical I caught Doctor Martinez and told her I believed I had Staph in a bad way. The doctor says she cannot see me until I first see the nurse. So I go seek out Nurse Smith. She says, “Unh-unh- not me honey, go see Ms. Coleman.” So I go seek out Ms. Coleman (at this time I'm still unable to establish what it is Ms. Coleman is responsible for, exactly.) Ms. Coleman rolls her eyes, then had me wait for 2 hours. She then says, “Can't see you, come back this afternoon for wound care.” I come back as directed. Mr. Ratliff puts a blood pressure cuff on my arm and asked why I was there. I explained to him that I had an infection, Staph in nature. That it began as a cherry pit size but had quickly and painfully distended to the size of a ripe peach, the entire thing subcutaneous. Ratliff deflated the cuff and refused to see me, said I had to see the doctor first...
Finally seen on 10-27-09, one week after problem has began. Dr. Martinez seizes the lump and squeezes goo out, makes an alarmed sound, takes a culture (man, that hurt!!). She then moves us from her office to the “Trauma Room”. She prescribes Keflex, gives me a slip of paper I can take to commissary so I can purchase a bottle of Ibuprofen (because it's not my scheduled shopping day). She told me she would NOT incise it and drain it, that it would have to come to a head first. She then told me to come back the next day. I'm convinced an Emergency Room in Denver would've definitely busted it open, cleaned it out and stitched it up. End of problem. 
Early on the morning of the 30th it busts. Looked like a bullet hole. I raised my arm and looked in the mirror and goo runs freely from the hole. The goo is green and red colored and doesn't slow. There was continuous discharge that ran down my side. No dressings were provided to me and I was forced to use rolled up socks as compress bandages. Fouled 4 socks, 2 t-shirts and my bedding. No wonder why this shit spreads so quickly and badly within the prison walls. 
On Monday, November 2nd, 2009, I again go to wound care. Nearly having a heart attack because Ms. Coleman actually deems to see me. By this point the draining is nearly complete. The drain-proof bandages have tore my skin up, but I'm okay with that. Dr. Martinez is not. Coleman calls in Dr. Chambers. He examines me, mentions that he heard from Ratliff about my intent to write a grievance against Medical. Chambers asks about the culture. I say one was taken. Chambers asks Coleman what the results were because he's concerned about MRSA. An unknown nurse goes to check. Moments later she returns, says Dr. Martinez went on vacation WITHOUT sending the culture out, that it was still there. Chambers is furious, and demands that the culture be sent out immediately. 
Went again on Thursday, November 5th, 2009. After 3 hours of waiting I again watched Ms. Coleman leave with her blue bag over her shoulder. This time she only left 2 of us unseen. Ms. Coleman seems to do this a lot. 
The Medical Department has posted Staph information fliers all over he Zoo. They're everywhere. Said fliers strongly urge anyone with Staph, or even suspected Staph to seek medical help immediately. But when one does go to medical, they refuse to see you. They're (for the most part) lazy and jaded. I've recently learned that a large majority of Mississippi's Prisons Medical departments are under investigation by the AMA and the ACLU. Someone please forward this blog to them. We, at the Zoo, would sure appreciate it. 