From Dragonfly: Friends Contained

Well, the flu outbreak is alive and well... I have several friends in isolation now. For each one that is found to have the flu, three more are put in isolation to stop the spread... they automatically isolate the roommates for several days. Yesterday, Nurse's room was put in isolation. She seems to have the worst of luck here. If it is going to happen, it seems to happen to her. I don't know why. I hear that isolation isn't that bad. They have TV's and videos. They have showers and everything one would need. I hope my friends there are well. My bronchitis is still active, but no flu (thank God!).

My friends are all in different places in their imprisonment now. South is nearing her adventure home. She has less than a month to go. Appeal is in the midst of her appeal... seven months of waiting and counting. Freckles is getting by well in RDAP and is now looking at an October, 2014 release date, rather than late 2015. That is a huge benefit of RDAP. Mama is doing her best to get her care level reduced to 2, so she can transfer to a camp closer to home. Danbury has been gone for over a month and none of us have heard anything. I hope she is in peace with wherever she finds herself. Two of my old roommates from the bus stop are going to their halfway houses this Friday. One is getting out after 10 years. She has a world of new things waiting for her. The other was here for just short of a year. Lola has several years to go, and she seems to be at acceptance that she will spend her time here. She has rheumatoid arthritis and it is unlikely (like me) she would ever be able to reduce her care level from 3 to 2. The Little One, who was my original bunkee in the bus stop and even threatened me, is now in my GED class. She is very respectful in class and working hard. She is excited to be back in GED class and really wants to succeed. Nurse is in isolation, like I mentioned, and will have tons of stories, I am sure, once she is released in a couple of days (as long as she shows no sign of the flu). Star is having her baby boy next week out at a hospital. She will be handcuffed to the bed as she recuperates from her C-Section. She will only have 5 weeks left of imprisonment after her baby boy is born. She will spend it in a comfortable hospital bed upstairs in the medical unit (after a couple days in the hospital). Her family will pick up her baby after 3 days and take it home. She will be going to her parents home, and her three children, once released. She is here on a parole violation, so she will not have to be under any supervision when she is finally home. Everyone has a story.

For me, I am trying to get my halfway house papers filled out. A case worker, which I don't know, is helping in that regard. Unfortunately, she came to a snag that I have a "medical hold." If my medical hold is not lifted, I will be ineligible for halfway house or home confinement and will have to stay through the end of my sentence in July. If the hold does get lifted, I could be heading out of here to a halfway house anytime between March and May. To think that I know I am leaving within 6 months no matter what is motivation. Somehow, the switching of the year, to 2014, made me realize I could start to see an end date of this experience. Of course, not knowing what that end date is can be frustrating, but not when I think about those who have years, where I have months or days. So many people I know here, will be here for the next decade of their life or longer. Some are just in their early 20's, other's in their 60's, neither makes it easy to deal with. Should women lose their entire young adult lives? Should women die in prison? I know it depends on their crimes, but, for the most part, these are not violent criminals. Mandatory minimums gave them so much time, but not necessarily their intentions to commit future crimes. I wish there were another option - a place to help women build their self-esteem, receive appropriate medical care and recovery assistance, develop ideas around healthy relationships, and gain an education and/or job skills. I wish I could believe that the women leaving prison will not find themselves right back here - a revolving door, they call it. I believe that most of my friends will never commit another crime, but there is like an 85% recidivism rate... education and programming substantially reduces that.

A lot to think about. I'm sure those who are currently "contained" are finding they are thinking about a lot of things as well. Cough, cough... okay, my bronchitis is acting up. Later!