This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Pleasant Valley.
Once back I realized the whole week I was in the hospital, D-yard was in disarray. And everybody who tested positive for COVID-19 was being moved into four block and those that we’re in contact were put into five block. The yard as we knew was on lockdown and program was now shut down.
The first week in three block, I couldn’t contact no one in my family. No phone or outgoing mail. Nothing!
That changed about seven days in. I was now placed on a 20 day observation status. I was still experiencing some side effects but more than anything, I was really feeling very lonely. In all of my incarceration, and I have been through some tough situations and circumstances, trust me I have!
This one was so different psychologically.
My spirit was on zero and I felt so unsteady. The everyday normal activities were difficult and just plain hard to complete. So, every morning I clean my floor with a wet towel, which is what every man, in every cell in the state uses to clean their floor with anyways. That is something I do everyday and have done since day one, and well, I had a hard time doing that.
I was breathing hard as hell as if I had worked out, when I stood up I lost my balance and was unsteady. I never felt like that. All I could think about was “why did the doctor, who well knew that, I had underlying health conditions still decided to send me out to get exposed?”
So, about two weeks back, I received via prison-mail my results from the November 19th COVID-19 test and sure enough it came back negative. Surprise-surprise. Here I am, some three months later, and really trying my best to put my experience behind me. But I can’t help but still feel like I’m or we’re not out of the woods yet.
I still feel wheezing in my lungs. I still feel shortness of breath. I still feel a little stressed and lonely throughout the day. But I strongly believe it’s just a matter of time before we all get past it. It won’t last forever.
