Inmate Timothy's Story

I interviewed Timothy on the prison yard I am residing at. I was actually signing up inmates in support of better health care by becoming members of Keep Us Healthy, Inc

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While on the yard signing people up, I met Timothy and he told me he had a past issue with healthcare himself

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So, about a week after signing up for Keep Us Healthy we got together and this is what he told me.

He was serving time in Salinas State Prison back in 2021 when he started having serious chest pains that were unbearable to the point he went to medical with his problems.

They ended up doing multiple tests from X-rays to kgb test and also blood work. After all the test his medical team at the prison said he was okay. Unfortunately, 8 days later that proved to be wrong.

He had extreme pain to the point he had to go man down and be rushed to the hospital for surgery and a chest tube inserted into his chest.

He ended up having a pocket of pus between his lung and chest wall called an “empyema” which is most likely the result of pneumonia from bacteria. All of this could have been prevented if doctors at prison took original test results seriously and treated the problem sooner.

Instead, they overlooked Timothy because he has a substance abuse problem. This is unacceptable and all inmates should be treated with care as soon as possible when test results show there is a problem.

Luckily Timothy made it through his situation and is still around to share his story with Keep Us healthy.

Thank you