Health Horror Stories
"These stories of health abuse are not independently verified by the editors of this website. However, all of the women have agreed to a HIPPA release to any qualified attorney willing to take their case, or to an investigative reporter from the media."
Update on Tiffany
Sources close to Tiffany said she continued to have severe seizures at Carlos. They said recently that Tiffany was suffering terrible pain and inflammation at her mastectomy site. She showed her friends, so there would be witnesses, of her horribly disfigured top surgery.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and walked to medical, passed the electronic door, down the hall to the provider, and raised her shirt at him, and said, “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME!”. The provider immediately called 911 and she was taken to the hospital. Reportedly, she spent an entire week there.
Let’s all pray for Tiffany.
Tiffany’s Cancer Travail
Another botched diagnosis, with accompanying malpractice, by DOC’s medical provider. We’ll let Tiffany tell her own story. She had the foresight to compile a diary.
“In April of 2020, I noticed a lump in my right breast. I immediately put in an HNR to have it examined. The nurse and the provider both palpated the breast and proclaimed that it was “just fatty tissue”. Four weeks went by and this lump had grown much larger, so I put in a 2nd HNR. In May I was seen by the provider again, and she still thought it was fatty tissue, but because of my age (38), she sent me out for a mammogram and ultrasound (5-22-20). Those scans called for an immediate biopsy on 6-9-20. On 6-11-20 both providers called me into the office to inform me I had “invasive ductal carcinoma”. I broke down and cried my eyes out.
On Aug. 5th, I was in a daze when they wheeled me into surgery for a double mastectomy. I spent five weeks in the prison “hospital” (IPC). There the “nurses” incorrectly handled my drainage tubes, did not change my bandages often enough, and I got an infection. By the first of Sept, my incision site was hot, red, with foul-smelling pus coming out. The IPC nurses said that was normal! Fortunately for me, I was scheduled for a follow-up appointment at Banner on Sept 2nd.
The OB/GYN that examined me was shocked. She said I had cellulitis and sepsis, and immediately ordered an antibiotic IV for me. She had a few choice words for the IPC “care” I had been receiving. I was returned to IPC with orders for five different antibiotics, that lasted until Oct.1st! At this time I was put on a chemo pill because my “heart was not strong enough for a port” chemo. Then there was more bad news. The real doctor at Banner said I needed a complete hysterectomy! I’m also scheduled for a “top redo” because of the nurse infection….. I don’t know which one they are going to do first. They decided to release me from IPC and send me back to my “cube” at San Carlos. Within a week of returning to Carlos, I suffered 5 seizures. I despair of my chances.
I’m due to be released from prison on July 6th, but I don’t know if I’ll make it.”
“I lay on the hot cement for hours with a broken back and leg!”
Dateline Lumley: We were suspicious of this story until we saw the legal paperwork from her lawyer that confirmed it. This is her post.
” In December of 2019, I was struggling with one of the cell doors that wouldn’t close. In that effort, I fell to the floor abruptly and heard a crack in my back. I was told by medical it was just a “bruise”.
Later on in the year, my legs would suddenly turn numb and I’d fall. This got worse until July 12th when my legs went out and I fell hard. This happened at about 10 in the morning. I felt severe pain in my right thigh and heard a crack. I looked at my thigh and saw a bulge under the skin.
Various guards said I was “faking” and would not call an ICS for medical help. Even the Lieutenant said, “You can just lie there because we’re not calling medical, and I’m giving you a ticket for not locking down. And then I’m going to lock you up for 72 hours straight.”. The guards just taunted me while I lay on hot concrete, with what I was sure, a broken leg. I lay crying like that until after count when the COIV told them to bring me to her office. They put me in a wheelchair and told me to “drive myself” to her office. After painfully wheeling myself to the COIV’s door, she let me wait in the hot sun for another 2 hours. She finally came out of her office to say, “Look I know your faking, so I’m not going to call medical.”
Finally, at 3 pm when it was obvious wasn’t moving, I was taken to medical, where they noticed my strange looking leg. The nurse immediately called the Doctor at the complex, and he directed me to X-Ray. When the X-Ray came back the technician screamed, “Oh my God she has a broken femur!”. Then things started to happen. I was rushed to the hospital with a compound fracture of the femur. That hospital examined me and said I needed immediate surgery at the trauma center. I was rushed to the roof to be transported by helicopter to the Trauma Center hospital.
It took two surgeries to fix my leg. In the midst of this stay, the hospital told me I also had a broken back! The “bruise” they refused to x-ray in December, was two compressed fractures in my lower back. This was the reason for my falling, because of the pressure on my nerves that control the legs!
Will another million dollar lawsuit cure the DOC of reckless endangerment and outright cruelty? I doubt it. Please voters….vote with your heart this election day. Vote for prison reform and human decency.”
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I was in prison for 17years and have seen so many people die in front of me It’s traumatic and I have PTSD from it. Medical never helped me for my heart problems, never took tests, just told me I have congested heart failure and didn’t do anything for me. I saw it every day. They never helped us, made us always feel like we were lying and would send us away. Making people work in the kitchen who have scoliosis, heart problems, people who have AIDS and Hep C as well as other STDs. There’s rat poop on our kitchen food, birds all over our trays that we eat off of making us all even sicker, black mold everywhere. We can’t breathe in our cells due to all the mold and crud in our walls, vents, and coolers. They are trying to kill us – they don’t care and the money they get for us does not go to us. There is so much more.
I’ve been sexually attacked by the CO police officers twice. I have my whole life to account for in there and I’m surprised I made it out after 17years. They have medium inmates on max yards getting assaulted and they don’t care. They say it is due to no room. They also send you to max yard as punishment without ever getting tickets. It’s all retaliation. They will ruin your life if you don’t do what they want. They make up lies, yep the sergeants, if you refuse to work because you don’t feel good. I heard a Sergeant say “Oh you’re going to hurt yourself” then cuff her up and put her in isolation when the girl never said it. I’ve seen it all, believe that.
Hi Cynthia! I’m not sure if you’ll see this but I am so sorry for what you went through. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your story. I would love to ask you questions as I am exploring ideas for my doctoral capstone and am interested in issues in the AZ Women’s Prison. Is there any way we could talk further?
That was my friend 😭 she was cool ag and funny. I feel bad I had to leave San Carlos for Cruz. But fck their medical center, the whole prison is fucked up and corrupted. I’ve been out for 8 months now and I still remember everything like yesterday especially with health care. Like can the prison do an upgrade and fix their shit or will more ppl have to die like my friend here? It’s fucked up because I knew she was having a hard time in the beginning getting her shots. We both came from the same county. She wasn’t even a criminal like person. She was fun, bright and very smart, like she could’ve went to college. She had alot planned for herself…damn I love Jowell thank for the laughs and being a loyal friend. Rest in Paradise
Yeah, she was a very cool person to know. She would hug you when she saw you with a big smile. She was always cool to everyone, no hate or anger in her heart but she probably did towards ADOC health employees
I was incarcerated for 9 years and just released March 2024. In 2019, my stomach swelled up and I looked 9 months pregnant. They told me I had impacted stool and had me drink a laxative. The pain got worse, I couldn’t breath or walk and this went on for 2 months. My family contacted the ACLU and prison and finally in February 2020 I was sent to the hospital and diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian cancer. I was in the hospital for 10 days and started chemo. I went back to the prison and was expecting chemo every 3 weeks. It took over a 3 weeks for me to get scheduled for my next chemo. In May, I had just came back from chemo and was told I was packing up and being sent to San Carlos. I had to load and unload all of my belongings after a day of chemo and was being transferred to a yard with 1300 women. I then had surgery to remove the cancer in July and once released from the hospital was sent to Maria and put in a cell, by myself with no A/C. I had to move everything by myself and carry a chair out to take a shower. I had an incision from belly button to my pubic bone. Finally after 2 weeks, I was sent back to Carlos. I was told later that I had peritoneal cancer and not ovarian, after I had had a complete hysterectomy. I never had a follow up PET scan to make sure the cancer was gone. In March of 2023, I started seeing a new oncologist, Dr. Benjamin and he finally ordered a PET scan and saw that I had cancer again in the same area of my stomach. I had surgery again in May and started six rounds of chemo. Between the medical Dr’s John and Johnson my medical treatment at the prison was horrible. They didn’t give me anything but Tylenol and Excedrin for the pain and I had to fight to get an extra mattress and extra milk for protein shakes. If I didn’t have my family to support me and stand up for me I would have died. I applied for clemency 2 times and because I wasn’t dying in 3 months, I was refused. Something needs to change with the health system and prison.