To Continue,
I received a call from Christina Kadelsky and Christina Prestien-Lapenta Friday, October 28, 2022. Thank you for the call. We could not have a comprehensive conversation regarding Redacted’s medical issues as they were not aware and did not have a copy of the Medical Release of Information that he signed while in the ECU from Sunday, October 23, 2022 through Tuesday, October 25, 2022, when Redacted was returned to his cell. Redacted used the emergency code on Sunday night as he couldn’t feel his feet. He told me that nothing medically noteworthy was done while he was in the ECU, but he did sign the Release of Medical Information forms for Dr. Rahimi, his vascular surgeon, and me. I am wondering if anyone examined him while he was there, as he said there was really nothing done for him. Did anyone check the pulse in his feet?
I am hoping that, by now, the forms have been discovered. My request during our conversation on Friday was that they would call me back when the forms were found so we could talk about the actual medical issues that are affecting Redacted.
Redacted also informed me that blood work was drawn last Wednesday, October 26, 2022. I expect that those results have come back, but as of today Redacted has not been informed of them. He also told me that another doctor, whose name Redacted did not have, had come to see him last week.
Today Redacted called and told me that last night the med nurse told him to be ready to leave in the morning for a surgical consult. He was brought to your medical unit this morning and he told me that he sat in the hall and saw no one. He did not know what type of surgical consult.
It is difficult for me to understand how and why the communication between the medical unit/doctor/nurse and Redacted is so poor. If he is forgetting something and not remembering to tell me then it seems prudent that the information should be written down for him.
What type of consult was he referring to? Is the swelling a circulatory issue? Claudication? And if so, time is of the essence. Cooper Hospital is not that far away. They are a level I Trauma center and could certainly accommodate Redacted and diagnose him properly. Or better yet, bring him to Dr. Rahimi at Robert Wood Johnson in New Brunswick. Why hasn’t he been taken to the hospital? It does not seem as though the prison medical system is equipped to diagnose him, especially as even the most basic care was not given until I started writing letters to all of you.
I await his phone call tomorrow and hope to hear something encouraging. At the same time, I fear that his legs are in trauma and no one is taking this seriously, due to the lack of immediate action, which I believe should have taken place when the very first doctor saw him approximately 6 weeks ago.
Respectfully,
Susan Guardia
