I had my leg amputated above the knee on 7-30-21. This nightmare starts on Lumley, the most horrible unit on the planet. DW Bendel’s motto is “I don’t care,” in fact he’s quoted as saying that in Townhall meetings.

There is only one ADA shower on the whole unit, and that’s on the max custody yard. They (staff) told me I’d have to be locked down 23 hours just like them if I transfer to an ADA room/shower. I have to wear diapers, and sometimes I don’t make it to the toilet in time, so I need access to a washer/dryer…..which doesn’t exist on this unit. My room is not equipped with a grab bar or riser to help me transfer to the toilet. In fact, my wheelchair doesn’t fit through the door. Imagine trying to get around my room with only one leg! Lumley does not provide wheelchair pushers like other units. They say they do, but I have to pay out of my own pocket to get them to push me.

Medical here is another disaster. I need the dressings on my stump changed regularly, but with Bendel’s escort nonsense, that is an all-day affair. When I have to go to Banner Hospital to see a real doctor, the guards wrap a chain around my belly and handcuff both arms to the wheelchair! It is an hour and a half travel time one way, completely enclosed in the darkness of the van….no light no window. I was crying because I was in so much pain, and the guards told me to shut up or they’d turn around and take me back. All they will give me is Tylenol for pain….and the pain is unrelenting.

I was supposed to be in the SNU (Special Needs Unit/ for post surgeries and Hospice) but there wasn’t any room. How did Central Office plan only 10 SNU beds for 4,000 women??