Drawing done by an inmate, just wish I knew the name.
Why do I work in a Prison?
I have always been interested in people. I think
I've always wanted to figure out why some people act
or do the things they do. I've also been
drawn to the misfits or those that didn't fit in.
I'm not sure what that says about me but that's the case
anyway. I've worked with troubled teenagers and for a time
I worked with the Special Education department of the
school board office.
Several years later, I became a Deputy Sheriff and
jail matron. I loved this opportunity, I felt that
somehow, someway, maybe I would make a difference.
Several things led to me leaving the department but
I treasure that experience and had to work very hard in
the police academy to become certified in the state of
Louisiana. I was certified as a police officer and as a
correctional officer.
I took extra classes from the FBI
and the state police through LSU. I loved every minute of it
and learned a lot.
Then came nursing school. Wow, talk about learning
a new language, I thought I was in a foreign country for sure.
I loved the patients and often hated the instructors.
Somehow, with a lot of prayer, I survived. My ideal is to
treat a patient as I would want to be treated. Since I've
had a good many health problems of my own, I know what kind
of nurse "not to be".
I ended up working in a prison unit at a state hospital.
It was really good experience and I learned a good many things
in different areas of treatment. We had our own clinic area
our own ER area and we had inpatients to care for. Since these
were all prisoners, the ones that were inpatient were quite often
very sick with last stages of aides, cancer, kidney failure, etc.
Some people will not understand what I am about to say
that's ok with me. I'm the one that has to live with me.
During the time that I took care of these very sick people,
I treated them as any other patient. I believe in my heart
that people are people. Some of us just make bigger mistakes
and some of these mistakes have a large "ticket" attached.
I ask you to ponder the thought that, if one of these prisoners
were your son, husband, daughter, mother, would you want them
to be treated with the best health care and kindness?
Well, I've lost patients to death that didn't have family
beside them and I was there. I remember one young man, age 25
that had bone cancer. It was not a pleasant death and I recall
the last time I ever saw him. He was very low and in a good deal
of pain. I said, Michael, I wish I could do something more to
help you and it brought tears to my eyes. He reached over and
patted me on the arm and said, it's ok, Ms.Sue, I'm going to a
better place. He died about an hour after I left work.
So, why do I work in a prison? For starters, I believe
I am in God's perfect will, this is my calling. I hope that
somehow I can make a difference. We work as a team to try
to encourage these people to make better choices and to
better their lives. If I have any part in helping even one
to make this choice, it will have been worth the effort.
Many people see these prisoners as throw away people
but most of them will not be in prison forever and they
will return to the community. Wouldn't you want people
like me to be doing something to help them become better
neighbors?
