Where To Start?

My oh my, I have much to write about and I wonder where I should start? I will continue with yesterday after my classification hearing. I could not work out in the morning because of the hearing so I needed to work out in the afternoon. My hearing ran past 11:30 am so I missed the “unlock” for the dormitory. I needed to get changed out of my prison “blues” into my workout attire but I couldn’t get back into the dorm. “Blues” are required when attending any appointment outside the yard and includes wearing boots. Fortunately, the middle windowpane is missing on the front door (this is the case for all dorms so I believe there is a reason for this) and I was able to obtain my workout clothing through the missing windowpane. I did get changed outside which isn’t a big deal in a place like this.

Now I was ready for the afternoon physical training class in preparation for the test on Friday. I started the class and got about five minutes into it when my Bunkie came by and told me my package was available for pick-up. My wife ordered this last Friday and it arrived today! I didn’t want to leave the class to pick it up but one of the instructors told me to go and get it because it may take a while to retrieve it. When I heard this, I immediately exited the class and went back to the dorm to obtain the package slip and change back into my prison blues. I was fortunate enough to catch the CO walking by the dorm and he unlocked the door for me. I grabbed my clothes and the package slip as fast as I could and went back outside. Once I was changed, I headed toward the gate where the pickup is located. It was locked and within a few minutes an inmate came through and it was opened. I immediately went through it. I took one step and the CO from the Tower called down to me and asked where I am going. I told him I was going to pick up a package and showed him the slip. He told me to go back inside the gate and wait for the CO from the package pick up area to come and get me. I stepped back inside the gate and waited and waited and waited for an hour and a half when the inmates working there came through the gate and told us (there were six of us waiting now) there wouldn’t be any more pickups today. They didn’t give any reason and they didn’t need to. This is just the way it is. Of course, I was disappointed but there was nothing I could do but come back at another time.

The one consolation was that it was time to make a phone call to my wife and children. My daughter sounds amazingly mature for her 8 years – soon to be 9 in February. I enjoyed chatting with her about Halloween, school, and soccer. These telephone calls are a double-edged sword; in one way I love hearing their voices but in another case when I do hear them, I miss them even more. My God, I miss them so much and times like this I do need to stay strong. It was wonderful to speak to all of them and they sounded great. The children are doing very well in school and are keeping very busy. My daughter told me Halloween wasn’t that good because I wasn’t there. When I heard that, my heart melted and instantly I had tears in my eyes. I do hope the next time I get to spend Halloween with them, my daughter won’t be too old to celebrate.

What I would give for a hug from my daughter and son is just about anything. We will all get through this “away” process and be a much better family. The key word is “temporary”. It’s only temporary that she has to share a bedroom with her brother and only temporary that I will be away from my family. There is passing and so shall my time within the CDC.

There was only a few minutes left of yard time before I had to return to the dorm. I didn’t get to workout which was okay because I would the following morning. The yard had ended which is commonly referred to as “yard recall”. It was 4:00 pm and it was time for mail call. So far I had only received two pieces of mail in a week and a half since my transfer from Kern. Today I hit the “mother lode” of mail call and soon became the envy of all my dorm mates. I received eight pieces from seven different people! Half were forwarded from Kern and the other half were sent directly to me. The postmarks on these letters were only 4 to 6 days ago which is a great sign and it appears the mail system is a little faster than the reception center.

Some of the letters I receive are one page long and others are multiple pages. Whatever the case, I love reading each and every one. By the time I finished all the letters it was time to go to dinner. When I returned, I started writing and when I stopped it was 10 pm and time to go to sleep. In between my writing, I received a ducat for my re-appointment to the medical physical. This only took a week and it is ironic because two hours prior to receiving the ducat, I wrote a request for the appointment and dropped it into the box. If anyone recalls last week, I went to my initial appointment only to be turned away because all the doctors were in a meeting. My new appointment was scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon which is perfect because it didn’t conflict with anything else and I could workout in the morning.

I woke up at my usual time at 5:45 am – brushed my teeth, got dressed, and went to watch the morning news for an hour which is very refreshing. I do get to watch a few minutes to watch a morning show although it is not the Today Show (which I prefer but I won’t say anything because I don’t want to make any waves). I do like watching the National News and seeing what goes on in the world - not just Sacramento news. We depart the dorm around 7:15 am for breakfast. I sit with the same inmates for breakfast and dinner – my Bunkie and two of our bunk neighbors. After returning, I have started to read for the hour before yard opens and makes the time go by very quickly.

This morning I was looking forward to the physical fitness class because I was unable to exercise yesterday due to all the waiting. Today is a very big day in preparation for the test tomorrow because the class is very similar. I was able to get through al the exercises perfectly and I even came in second on the run. Apparently, I am not fast enough to beat a 23 year old who ran track in college. I was also given a very good and very simple piece of advice from one of the instructors regarding my psychological block to the “mountain climbers”. He told me when I get over half way through with the mountain climbers and feel my legs starting to burn, I should just get it out and finish the set. This was great advice because of its simplicity. I was so worked over my form and I wasn’t concentrating on finishing the set; now I know how to finish it. I incorporated this tip into my extended workout later on and I was able to perform 25% more repetitions than previously. I thought to myself after performing these that I was ready for the test tomorrow which I was hoping to take in the morning. I may or may not be able to test tomorrow and you will have to read further to find out the answer.

I had a very good workout which lasted the entire morning yard of 2 ½ hours. I returned to the dorm where I needed to shower and change for my afternoon medical appointment. I only had to wait 20 minutes, which wasn’t bad. I have discovered the best way to get into the shower faster is to be the first one in the door after yard has ended and race directly to the bathroom to place the ID card on the mirror. This method has worked well for the past few days and worked well today. While I was waiting for the shower I washed my socks and undershirt in the sink in order to save time in the shower. I also shaved which I now have the ability to do everyday if I choose. I just need to purchase a better razor and some shaving cream because the current razor doesn’t really cut the facial hair it pulls it off. I have also discovered that shampoo works much better than soap as a replacement to shaving cream but I can’t wait to actually shave with shaving cream.

I didn’t have time to eat lunch today because I needed to make the first unlock in order to get outside so I was not late for my medical appointment. There wasn’t anyway I was going to be late for this appointment because it is a very large step in getting to a fire camp. I made my way over to the gate at 1:00 pm only to be turned away by the CO because I was “too early” for my appointment. I tried again at 2:00 pm and was successful with a different CO who was very kind and let me through the gate.

My name was called by an actual doctor at 2:40 pm. I went into a smaller area where he asked me the standard medical questions such as allergic to any medications, allergic to any foods, any major medical procedures and so on. I answered “Yes” (?? I think he meant “no”??) to all of them, but when he got to the food allergies question I did have a question for him. I felt a comfort level with this doctor that I have not felt with any other doctor while I have been in the prison system. So I decided to divulge my diet and see if there is anyway he could get me more protein, I asked very nicely and told him that if it did cause any unnecessary problems I would drop it. He seemed to rack his brain and told me to hold on and he would think of something. Also, one of his questions was regarding tattoos and when I said no, I don’t have any; he made a joke and said it was not possible. After this banter back and forth, I felt very comfortable and we went into the discussion of how I don’t fit in and why I am here. I explained my situation and he was very empathetic.

After this conversation, he took my weight which was 148 pounds fully clothed with work boots on. This is an 8-pound increase from almost three months ago from the reception center. I was weighed with much less clothing and no work boots but with that factored in I figured I have gained 3 or 4 pounds in three months. I guess my time working in the kitchen did me some good and it appears my peanut butter diet is holding strong.

I completed the weigh in and now it was time for my EKG since I am older than 40. We went into another room where a nurse administered it. I was ecstatic to receive the EKG right then and there because I have heard horror stories about how other inmates waited 3 and 4 months to receive these. I don’t know if the extremely good rapport I had developed with the doctor had anything to do with it but whatever the case, I was happy to have the procedure today. However, this happiness was short-lived. The test took 30 seconds and the results printed instantly. The nurse was extremely pleasant during the very brief procedure; however, her mood changed instantly when the results printed out. She said to the doctor, “You are not going to like this.” As soon as I heard this I became very concerned. The doctor took the printout from the nurse and looked at it. After viewing it for a minute, he told me to follow him back to his “real” office. Yes, I was concerned for a variety of reasons.

One of the reasons had to do with my recent upper chest pains which have somewhat subsided, but there is a still a slight twinge. The other concern is to NOT be able to attend fire camp. As we walked back to his office we talked and talked. I remembered my only other EKG which was about eight years ago. At that time the doctor was very concerned because my heart rate was so low – 30 beats a minute – and he thought I must have a blockage. The doctor referred me to a cardiac specialist where I was given a stress test and an electrocardiogram. I passed the stress test with flying colors without reaching the target heart rate which is almost unheard of. The electrocardiogram came back with no problems. The cardiologist explained to me that when an extremely healthy person takes an EKG with such a low heart rate, the test often reads a “false positive” and it is always better to err on the side of caution.

When we finally reached the doctor’s office, I told him about my first EKG and he knew exactly what I was talking about. He said this does often happen with very healthy people and he just wanted to ensure I was okay. We talked more about my vegetarian diet and he was kind enough to prescribe a multi-vitamin which I was able to pick up this evening. He also sought a second opinion of his superior and she came up with a plan that he agreed with. She stated the result was very borderline and he many want to do a chest x-ray to ensure there weren’t any abnormalities in my heart. The blood work is to ensure all my proteins and lipids are in order and the electrocardiogram is to ensure there aren’t any blockages or abnormalities in my veins and arteries.

This was a very good plan but I was concerned with the timing because again I have heard horror stories about procedures being dragged on for many months. I asked the doctor how long these tests would take and he said one month. When he saw the disappointment in my eyes, he said two weeks. I was happy to hear this, but before I could say anything he said he would schedule the chest x-ray and blood work for tomorrow morning. This was wonderful news and I asked him if I should fast for the blood test. When I asked this, he knew all about my eating habits and said, “Sure you can fast, but I suspect that won’t be a problem for you.” He has a good sense of humor and I liked him very much.

Tomorrow at 7:00 am I will go for the chest x-ray and blood work. Even if the chest x-ray comes back negative, I will still have to go for the EKG in two weeks. Again, I felt comfortable with this doctor and we were able to talk about a variety of subjects such as compulsive gambling and recovery. He asked me some very good questions and I believe either he is in some type of recovery program or someone very dear to him. He was well versed on recovery and it was a very interesting conversation. I believe he really wants to help me get to a fire camp but wants to make sure all his i’s are dotted and t’s crossed before giving me medical clearance. This is the right way to go since my health is vitally important and I won’t mess around when it comes to it. If I don’t have my health, I don’t have a life so I will be a very patient “patient”.

We shook hands after the session was ended and after spending over an hour there, I said to the doctor, “For all the bad press the medical staff receives, you are more than okay in my book.” He thanked me and made a joke about how they try their best. Everything I have heard about the medical staff and procedures have been negative; however, my first exposure to this has been very positive. I do believe everything happens for a reason and last week when I had to be rescheduled was a blessing because I may not have gotten to see this particular doctor and my appointment may have been quite different.

I hope everything is okay with me which I do suspect is the case. I guess sometimes being too healthy has its drawbacks, but if there is something truly wrong with me at least the prison medical system is doing everything in their power to find out. I did forget to mention my cholesterol level was 126 and the chief medical officer said many people would kill for that number. She mentioned something about it being perfect. If there is something wrong with me, I can only attribute it to stress because my eating and exercising habits have not changed in over 15 years. Yes, stress does not do a body good so I am very interested to see the final results of all these procedures.

This evening was very strange because I needed to be in three places at one time. Everything in prison depends on the ID card and in each place this was mandatory. I tried again to retrieve my package and wanted to sign up for a telephone call to be placed Saturday night at the same time. Fortunately, I received notification that there would be no package retrieval this evening and I raced to the telephone sign up area where the CO was just about finished collecting the ID’s. I was able to get it in on time and received an 8:45 pm Saturday time slot. At the same time as the telephone sign-up was going on, I needed to get over to the pill line in order to pick up my vitamins. I was able to pick up my One A Day Vitamins. I believe my wife ordered these in the package and someday when I can retrieve it, I will be able to start taking my regime of vitamins.

Come to think of it, it has been almost 3 ½ months since I have taken a vitamin pill. I have taken some type of pill everyday for the past 15 years. I don’t know if this may have anything to do with the odd feeling in my chest, but I do know taking one is not going to hurt. Finally, I recall being in the county jail and asking that doctor if he could prescribe a multi-vitamin since he could do nothing to provide me an alternative menu for my non-dairy vegetarian diet. I do remember him basically laughing me out of his office when I requested the vitamin which is why it was so refreshing today to meet a doctor who truly cared because I was a human, not just an inmate.