Sick Call

Whenever a prisoner is sick he has to fill out a request form and explain why he needs to see a doctor. Unless you're passed out on the ground or dying or bleeding, you'll have to wait a few days to get an appointment.

I had an appointment for sick call at 10:30 this morning. I received a ducat last night information of the time and place of the appointment.

About 6 months ago I played in the prison basketball league and jammed my right index finger. It swelled up pretty bad. I didn't bother to see the doctor and chose to let it heal naturally. A couple of months later I jammed my left index finger playing a pick-up game of basketball. Then my Achilles tendon started to act up. I was feeling pain just from walking. After years of pounding my feet on the concrete basketball court, it was finally catching up with me. So I laid off all sports to allow my joints to heal. I didn't want them to become permanent injuries.

I went to see the doctor twice about my joints in the last four months. The pain was bothering me. The doctor gave me a 30-day supply of Ibuprofen and told me to just give it time to heal. I took the pills and they didn't help. I was still feeling constant pain so I asked to see the doctor again. I went to my appointment at 10:30. There were 10 people already waiting in the doctor's office. The medical assistant called me to check my weight, temperature, and blood pressure. She wrote down my reason to see the doctor and asked me to wait. I knew it always took a long time to see the doctor so I brought a book with me to read.

I read the book North Korea South Korea U.S. Policy at a Time of Crisis by John Feffer until the doctor called me in at 11:45. After I explained my problem to the doctor I asked him to give me an x-ray of my joints to see if there were any fractures or tears. He looked at my fingers and felt my Achilles for a minute. THen he told me that I was just paranoid. It's just a bad case of tendonitis. He said he'd prescribe me a 30-day supply of Ibuprofen and for me to give it time to heal. I insisted that I wanted my fingers to be x-rayed. He finally said he'd order an x-ray on my right index finger only. He said that if I still felt pain a month later, he'd see me again. That's all he was willing to do for me.

I was done by 12:00 and went back to work.

I want to take care of my joints, especially my Achilles tendon.
I plan to fun a marathon one day.