PRISON VISITS WITH MONTELL 10/27 THROUGH 10/29

10/27/07 – Today I arrived at the prison and was escorted to the infirmary. When we got there Montell was in the laundry room/visiting room for me in his gerry chair. He had a knit cap on, hospital gown that wasn’t fasten at the shoulders (he usually have on his long sleeve thermal shirt), no socks on his feet (his right foot was touching the cold floor and one blue blanket over him. I tried to pull the blanket down and cover up his foot. The room was cold and Montell kept saying he was cold, even I was cold and I had on a knit long sleeve sweater.. There was nobody around except me, him and the guard. Today the washer and dryer were both going for about an hour. I asked Montell if he was trying to eat because he needed strong muscles and he knob his head up and down. He then wanted me to do the ABCs and he spelled out “that I was his strength”. As I was driving back I thought of this and it made me smile. I only stayed for an hour and twenty minutes because he was getting weak and wanted to go back to his room, so I asked the guard to escort me back to the main gate. For the life of me I can’t understand why they just didn’t let him stay in his room and I visit him there, he would have been more comfortable. When I got to my car I called the prison back and spoke to a Lieutenant Mekeel and told him about the visiting situation. I told him that they were well aware of the fact that Montell had just gotten out the hospital yesterday and ask him if they were trying to make him get pneumonia now. Montell is very weak and we will have to do the surgeries soon. I don’t want him to get any more infections. KSB Hospital has done a tremendous job in bringing him back from near death and I don’t want the prison to put him back in the same situation.
10/28/07 – Today I visited with Montell. I was escorted to the infirmary by a guard. When we arrived at the infirmary, we went straight to the laundry/visiting room which was still cold. As I approached the area where Montell was at I could hear the dryer going. Montell was lying in the gerry chair. He had two blankets on him, a knit cap, socks and his thermal shirt on. Montell was a little verbal today but it was hard trying to figure out what he was saying. When I couldn’t he would start crying. I tried to encourage him to do the ABCs. Montell spelled out to me that he hated that gerry chair and wanted to go back to his room. He wants to know why I can’t visit him in his room. I told him I would call and ask Warden Chandler in the morning, since she once told me she had no problem with me visiting him there. When Montell is in the gerry chair he lying directly on his bedsores and he’s uncomfortable. Montell is getting his color back and his eyes look much better however, he really needs to be shaved. I asked him if he was eating to get muscles for me and he nodded his head up and down. I noticed that he was having quite a few spasms which seemed to be wearing him out so after about 40 minutes I left so they could take him back to his room and he could lay on his sides rather than on his back.
10/29/07 – This morning at 8:05 a.m. I called Dixon and spoke with Warden Chandler. I asked her if I could come out and see Montell everyday because of his condition. I also asked her if I could visit him in his room because he was uncomfortable in the gerry chair because of the bedsores. She said yes I could visit him in his room. I told her that the doctor had told me that he only had three months to live if I didn’t do anything. (So far nothing has been done about cleaning out the wounds.) I told her that Montell had told me that I was his strength and I had asked him to eat his meals in order to get strong muscles for me. She stated that nobody visits the facilities everyday and then said that she would have to find something out and get back to me. I told her that I needed to know at least by 10 or 10:30 a.m. in order to get there by l:00 p.m. At 9:58 a.m. she called me and said the best she could do was allowed me to come out two days during the week and one day on the weekend. I arrived at Dixon at 1:10 p.m. and got to Montell’s room at l:30 p.m. He was lying on his right side. He immediately let me know that he was unable to talk today by me going through the ABCs. He wanted to be covered up. I asked him if he was eating and he had me spell out “Why eat”. I told him that we were a team and he had to hang on in there and I would do what I had to do. He nodded his head up and down as to say “yes”. He also had me go through the ABCs and spelled out “Be real I have MS”. I told him that we could beat this if he didn’t give up. I asked him if he wanted to leave mommy and he shook his head from side to indicating “no”. He let me know that his right hand was hurting because of being handcuffed to the bed in the hospital. He wanted to be reposition in the bed and tried to ring the nurses’ station with the call button with his mouth. I told him not to do this because he would get germs. When the nurses came in I stayed in the room and they moved him around. Montell kept trying to reach the bed rail with his right hand and I noticed that he has very little strength in it now and he can’t hold on to the railings for very long. After awhile Montell began to become uncomfortable again, he said he wanted his head higher. I tried to reposition him again but wasn’t very successful. I went across the hall to the nurses’ station and a nurse came out to see what I wanted. This time the guard sitting in the station told me I had to go down the hall while they reposition Montell. I was escorted down the hall. When I got back in Montell’s room the left side of his face was buried in a pillow and he couldn’t see out of his left eye. I moved his head so he could see out of his left eye. I also noticed that Montell was having quite a few spasms and they were coming regularly. I told him that the Warden wouldn’t let me come every day and he began to cry. I told him that if he closed his eyes he could see me any time he wanted too. I told him that I would come and visit him on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays until we could get this straighten out. At 2:50 p.m. the officer told me that I had five more minutes when I should have had 35 minutes more however, he was getting off his shift and my visiting time was cut. Montell reached for my hand and held it and didn’t want to let it go, he began to cry. He didn’t want me to leave him. I kissed him and told him I loved him and he indicated the same. As I left the room tears came in my eyes. I don’t understand how people can be so uncaring.