UPDATE ON MAIL SITUATION AND MY VISIT WITH MONTELL

12/17/07 – This afternoon I called the hospital and asked to speak to person in charge of receiving the mail for the seventh floor and the fact that Montell wasn't receiving his mail. She told me that she was not the person who handles the mail and that I had been misinformed. However, they do have a person who does work in conjunction with the IDOC when it comes to mail being sent to inmates while they are hospitalized. I understand that the IDOC wants all mail that’s sent to inmates there to be sent to the facility that the inmates are housed at and then they will deliver the mail to the inmates. I told her that at the present time Montell is not in any facility. At this particular time I’m asking that all mail be sent to: Montell Johnson, B-61337, Stateville Correctional Center, P.O. Box 112, Joliet, IL 60434 and lets see if he then receives his mail.

She explained to me that she works with patients and their families and if they have any concerns about the care given to them in the hospital that its her job to check into the matter and get it resolved. I told her that my main concern was that I didn’t want Montell to get re-infected in his bedsores or any more bedsores and that was why I was concerned about him lying in his urine or feces. She assured me that the hospital doesn’t want this to happen either and would take all precautions to see that this doesn’t happen. She’s checking my concerns out now.

I don’t want her or anyone else to think that the hospital isn’t taking good care of Montell or can’t. However, his case is different, he’s unable to ring the call button or tell anyone when something is wrong. I realized that they have other patients that are ill as well but Montell’s needs to be watched more closely and turned within a two-hour timeframe in order for him to have his bedsores heal properly and not get any more. I hope that I have cleared this matter up with all of you and I deeply apologize for any misunderstandings or interpretations that you may had after reading what I written on those two days about Montell’s care while in the hospital.

Now let’s get to my visit with Montell today. I arrived at the hospital at 4:45 p.m. and when I entered Montell’s room he was lying on his right side in a fetal position. When he saw me he wanted to do the ABCx. He spelled out “turn”.. I told him to let me take off my coat and I would turn him to his left side. The guard told me that the nurse had turned him at 3:30 p.m. and had asked him to let me know that when he needed to be turned or anything to let them know and they would do it. I tried to explain this to Montell and he got upset with me and closed his eyes and wouldn’t response to anything that I said to him. I noticed that he was having spasms. Montell had his right hand on his shoulder and his left hand laying across his chest and he drifted off to sleep. I noticed that while sleep he kept pulling his facial hairs. Montell started moaning in his sleep and opened and shut his eyes again. I asked why was he moaning and he pointed to his left side indicating that he wanted to be turned.

At 5:30 p.m. a nurse came in to turn him to his left side and Montell drifted back off to sleep. I asked her for his 3:30 p.m. vital check. She told me that his blood pressure was 106 over 76, pulse 97, respiration 18, temperature 99.0, oxygen level 100 and blood sugar count 114.
After the nurse turned him he drifted off to sleep until 6:48 p.m. and he opened and shut his eyes

At 7:35 p.m. the nurse came back in and turned him to his right side and he drifted off to sleep again or had his eyes shut. At 7:45 p.m. a nurse came in to take his vitals. His blood pressure was 87 over 55, pulse 90, respiration 19, temperature 99.2 and oxygen level 100. I told him that I would soon have to be leaving and he nodded. When it was time to leave I told him that I loved him and would see him tomorrow.