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."GOOD NEWS, Perryville resident gets multi million dollar settlement!
(We love these stories. Very seldom does the lowly inmate get what she deserves, so this was pure vindication)
Robin found out yesterday from the Court, that she had been awarded 6 million dollars from her medical lawsuit in compensatory and monetary damages. This elderly woman took on the DOC, and two for-profit medical vendors, in a lawsuit ALL BY HERSELF. No help from anyone. Robin had taken a paralegal course and bought books on civil law. From that humble beginning…..she slayed dragons! She started the process in November of 2021.
We have written about her medical tribulations before, but to give new readers a quick synopsis, we’ll review. Provider April McEwen gave Robin the wrong shot….it was meant for someone else. There was an immediate catastrophic reaction, that eventually resulted in compromised lymph nodes, infections in bones, cervical, and nerves. She still suffers from extreme pain and cranial swelling and she is wheelchair bound. Robin will have to endure six surgeries to improve her health, but Dr. Ibriham (at one time the medical director at Perryville) told her to wait for those surgeries until she leaves prison because “The staff is too incompetent to care for you after these complicated procedures.”
After Robin leaves prison behind, she plans to start an advocate group called “Perryville Lives Matter Too”. She will use her medical compensation to improve the lives of the incarcerated.
Pregnant Women Starved and Neglected in Perryville!
(Editorial note: To the Pro-Life Republicans in this (still) red state. If you really value the unborn and support young mothers, then why do you let incarcerated women be hungry, and neglect their medical needs? These are three women telling the same story.)
“I’m hungry all the time, but especially on the weekends when we only get two meals…breakfast at 7 am and dinner at 6 pm. Dinner takes even longer to get a meal because diets eat last, so I have to wait till after 7 pm. Pregnant people are supposed to get 3 extra milks, one peanut butter sandwich, and a small egg or chicken salad per day, IN ADDITION to a regular meal. It never works out that way. The white shirts and kitchen officers are mean to us. Sometimes we don’t get the egg salad, and if we complain they say, ” I’ll give it to you this time but if you bother me again I’ll write you up.” Or for breakfast, we don’t get our extra milk and they say, “You got one, go away.” Consistently, one or more of our ‘extra’ food is missing.
If we have to go to a mandatory program and miss more than 5 meals in a week, they cut us out of our pregnancy food entirely! If it wasn’t for the kindness of strangers…my fellow inmates, we’d starve. As it is, my belly feels empty all the time.
I’ve never been to prison before and had no idea the meals were so skimpy. For a typical breakfast tray during the week, all I get is 5 potato pieces, a handful of cereal, and milk. What comes out of that kitchen is disgusting.”
(Ed. None of these 3 ladies has received an ultrasound, prenatal vitamins, or seen the OB/Gyn, and they’ve been here approximately two months. One of the girls is especially worried because she has a heart condition that makes her a high-risk pregnancy, and another is stressed about being given a drug called Suboxone, which might lead to serious birth defects.)
Carlos Medical Gives NO Pain Meds to Cancer Patient!
(She wrote us this letter and begged to have her real name in the story. Ed.)
“My name is Robin Leigh Kulp. I am housed at Perryville prison, San Carlos unit. On 3-25-24 I was having trouble breathing, and having serious chest pain. My legs were throbbing, aching, and burning. An ICS was called as I was unresponsive to medical staff. Nurse Arnott administered Narcan to me, and then Nurse Jones gave me another dose of Narcan. These nurses were aware I had been given morphine earlier.
I was admitted to Abrazo West Hospital and sent to ICU because my oxygen level was only 33%. There I was put on a Narcan drip because Carlos medical staff had failed to provide the hospital with my records. Narcan and morphine can be a deadly combination. Dr. Jordyne at the hospital immediately stopped the Narcan drip when he found out I was on morphine.
The doctor released me three days later and changed my medication to Percocet and gabapentin instead of morphine. The providers here are not specialists in cancer treatment, nor apparently, pain management. Carlos providers are not giving me ANY pain medication, or ANY of the medication prescribed by real off-site doctors.
I live in constant pain from nerve damage in my legs, my feet are turning purple, my chest hurts, and I can’t sleep. Will they just let me die like this?”
No-Care Naphcare the Worst EVER!
(We thought after the ACLU descended on Perryville March 14th, that Naphcare would have the fear of the Lord instilled in them. Oh no, they actually got worse toward the inmates. These are snippets of stories we're working on.) M.L. went in for her chronic care...
Woman with 2 uterine masses, cirrhosis, and portal hypertension fights with Naphcare for a doctor
Ms. R. has been churning out urgent grievances to get healthcare for her diagnosis. Naphcare denies her at every turn. She is in constant, severe pain from the uterine masses discovered by CT Scan at Abrazo West hospital. Naphcare denied her request for a hysterectomy...
Breaking News! Has the DOC sabotaged the Injunction App?
For our readers who don't know why this is so critical, let us explain it to you. On April 7, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona entered a Permanent Injunction to address the unconstitutional provision of health care and the...
Terminal Cancer Patient, Formerly in Hospice, “in Agony” at Perryville’s San Carlos
(Ed. note: We have seen the patient's original X-ray report and copy of the letter she sent to the Prison Law Office, and of course, we did a one-on-one interview. This article starts with an overview of her situation taken from the letter to Prison Law.) "My name is...
When is Deliberate Indifference Like Murder? How a 26-Year-Old Died at San Carlos
(Jowell Jones was only 26 years old with her whole life ahead of her when she was tragically cut down by alleged negligent health care. Many girls close to her were interviewed for this story, so this is a composite of those observations. Only first-hand eyewitness...
Woman Suffering Weeks Of Severe Mental Breakdown, And They Don’t Care, And They Do Nothing
A minimum security dorm-style warehouse has 8x6 cubes in 12 rows x 12 columns. The cube is completely open because the partitions of this living space only come up to your hip. The security cameras can see, the guards can see, and all the residents can see every cube....
Woman:”I’m in a wheelchair forever, thanks to DOC’s medical vendors’ neglect and malpractice “
M.J.'s medical nightmare began July 22, 2021. She woke up with no balance and her right leg dragging. M.J. immediately called an ICS and was seen by Provider Johnson. He diagnosed it as neuropathy without ordering an MRI or XRAY. Later that week she fell and hit her...
Elderly Diabetic With Sepsis Forced On Her Knees
A woman in her 70s was told to get on her knees and CRAWL FULLY CHAINED into a van to go to the hospital. This all started with a spider bite on the woman's stomach. When you have diabetes, any wound can become easily infected. The lady did go to medical when she got...
Woman Left in Agony for Hours at San Carlos
An Air Force veteran we featured before, had another severe injury to her previously broken leg. Her knee and ankle were left hideously swollen just before 11 am count. CO Lara was informed immediately, but she asked the inmate if she could wait until count had...
Are These Some Of The Reasons Perryville Residents Have Such An Alarming Rate Of Cancer?
This took some deep digging, and investigative interviews to finally nail down what is labeled "Not for human consumption". The prevailing answer was it's the "mechanically separated chicken" inmates call shmeat. But no! It is something much more diabolical, and so...
Warden, Would You Eat In A Restaurant That Had No Dishwasher?
We were astounded to learn that San Carlos has NO DISHWASHER. How that escaped our attention for so long is mystifying, but we recently had a slew of letters about it. In interviewing residents that worked at Carlos kitchen, we were able to get a clear picture of the...
No-Care Naphcare sued for $26.75 Million!
This was the verdict in Washington State, for the death of Cindy Hill after being denied care for a ruptured a intestine. Naphcare was accused of "subjecting inmates to risk of serious harm" and "putting profits over the medical wellbeing of inmates." The complaint...
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