This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Solano.
My symptoms included lost of taste and smell. The world was definitely less beautiful without those senses but I was still grateful that I was not ill. Moving into the gym for quarantine was a blessing for me as well. I was bunked up with a friend who I had just been developing a relationship with.
As I brought my property in, he immediately expressed his hospitality and care. I am not sure how I would have handled that horrendous living situation without his kindness and friendship. Over the next 10 days we shared meals, conversated, and lived together. It brought us closer as friends and allowed me to see his values because he was living by them.
I also got to appreciate those who volunteered to clean and provide service in the gym. And that is still not enough credit for them because the gym was filthy and a terrible place to house those positive with COVID-19, at least by my opinion. The ceiling near my bunk was dripping water and crumbs would descend on those underneath it.
The showers ran cold on various times of the day. The urinals were clogged most of the time. But what was worse was that people were jammed in there like sardines. My neighbor was no more than three feet away from me.
In the gym, I saw a variety of symptoms from those who had none to those who looked like they were on their death bed. Because of the crowded space, it was hard to tell who needed help and who did not.
What was even more saddening was to hear officers talk about how there was nothing to stop the virus and that everyone was going to get it eventually. This sparked anger in me because I valued life and health. If this was the case then why take all the preventative measures, at least that was my thought as anger rised.
While in quarantine, medical staff took vitals twice a day. I appreciated their efforts and service and expressed it as so.
What I did not agree with was when people requested electrolyte drinks when they were dehydrated, that they needed to turn in a medical slip to get it. Which would occasionally take days to be processed. If I am in quarantine and I am requesting treatment, give it to me rather than telling me to go through the process that requires days.
The living environment was horrendous during quarantine, but the people who were offering their support made me experience ease. When I left quarantine, I was placed back in the same building I came from. This was fortunate because it was not so for some other people.
