All power
to the people,
As I’ve
pointed out in my previous writings, Hepatitis C kills more
Amerikans each day than HIV and sixty other infectious diseases
combined, making it the deadliest infectious disease in the United
States. It is a viral infection, caused by the Hepatitis C virus
(“HCV”) that affects the liver and can result in serious,
life-threatening complications.
On
February 15 of this year blood tests revealed that I had Hepatitis
C. In contrast to NCDAC’s Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for
the treatment of Hepatitis C, I was sent back to my cell, instead
of having further blood testing done to determine my
fibro-scores.
I was
provided no further information, other than that I had Hepatitis C
and that I would be seen by the facility’s healthcare provider at a
later date. The following days were mentally
exhausting.
Only
after consulting with a prisoner who was receiving treatment for
HCV at the time, did I become aware of the procedures that are in
place for evaluating and treating prisoners who have the Hep-C
virus. Before treatment can be started, additional blood testing is
required to determine one’s level of fibrosis.
After
becoming aware of the aforementioned, I immediately began to submit
sick calls requesting the required blood testing be done to
determine my Fib-4 index score. My sick calls went unanswered, only
after those of you on the outside made calls to the prison on my
behalf was I taken to medical to have the Fib-4 test done. The test
results revealed that my Fib-4 score was 5.7, which indicates that
I am at risk of cirrhosis, liver disease and/or liver cancer.
However, the health care provider has yet to begin my
treatment.
These
scores were revealed to me on March 3, subsequently I’ve not been
assessed by medical personnel since, despite submitting multiple
sick-calls due to the complications I am experiencing caused by the
hepatitis-c virus.
Since
early March I have lost approximately 30 pounds, I have various
pock-like scores on my lower legs, rashes cover my elbows and
knees, and the sharp pains in my lower back and side make it
difficult to sleep at night. When I inquire about my treatment, the
response I receive is that it is out of their hands.
I am
firmly convinced that they have no intentions of treating me.
Combined with the recent continuation of my term on supermax, it’s
evident that their intentions are to hold me incommunicado and hope
that the hepatitis-c will do what they have been unable to do -
silence me!
Having to
openly admit that I am at the mercy of my overseers infuriates me.
I feel helpless and I am scared. I’m witnessing what is being done
to Komrade Rashid, I witnessed the late elder Maroon Shoatz
languish with cancer for years, Mumia Abu-Jamal continues to suffer
from complications caused by hepatitis-c, the names go on and on. I
feel as if my twenty-year prison sentence has become a death
sentence.
I entreat
that calls be made and emails be sent on my behalf, demanding that
I be treated immediately. Only if pressured by those of you on the
outside will these miscreants act with
professionalism.
