Insights from Outside Prison: JC
Posted by Anna Debenham, January 8, 2019
Driving home from prison this afternoon I got a call from one of our graduates who had been released a few weeks ago. He said, I just had to call and tell you what happened today.
All ears, I listened to him share a really cool story.
Being out in the community navigating all the things you don’t have to navigate while locked up can feel quite overwhelming at times and bumping up against challenges can be testing for the spirit. JC has been looking for a primary care provider to manage the medication he’s on. He went to several clinics that all told him there was at least a 6 to 7 week wait. One health care provider told him the best thing to do was to wean himself off them. But how am I supposed to do that when I have run out of both meds? She said, “Yes, our system is flawed and you should go vote for someone who is going to change the system”. Not that helpful in the moment….
The old Jo would have said f*@k you and got really frustrated… but instead he said ok thank you and left. He wasn’t freaking out. He stayed calm and knew he’d figure it out. If I can’t get them I can’t get them. The 4th clinic he went to that had a 7 week wait, but he decided to just apply so he’d have a primary care doctor eventually. When he turned in the paper work and she was scheduling the appointment she looked at him and said what are you doing in 2 days? You’re in Luck! Someone just called and cancelled. “You’re in the right place at the right time”, to which Jo replied – “well I’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time all day so that makes a change”.
In the past Joe would have given up by lunch time, got really angry and found the nearest bar to drown his sorrows, or found something to numb his feelings. He doesn’t need to do that now. His mind didn’t react to seemingly bad news and dead ends, instead he stayed open and kept looking. He had a quite mind, not reacting to the women who told him to go vote to change the system or panic when he couldn’t get in to see anyone for weeks. He knew he’d be ok and he was.
