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Mumia hospitalised again - Updates 12-13 May 2015
UPDATE 13 May 2015 source: Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio
Dateline May 13th 2015: Philadelphia, PA - A SCI Mahanoy prison nurse called Wadiya Jamal Mumia's wife at 8:50 pm last night May 12th and told her that Mumia had been moved to the hospital. This is a disturbing development and is cause for grave concern. There are reports that he had a fever, and that he has open wounds and sores on his legs. HIs attorney Bret Grote visited him on Friday. He was engaged, alert, yet he was in pain in his knees and leg. We will be working to gather more information as the day goes on. His hospital conditions will be abhorrent: he will be chained to the bed. He could, as they did before, be arbitrarily and systematically denied visitors. The last time we were in the ICU they did not let his familly or lawyers see him, or give them any information for 24hrs. Even though they were the ICU waiting room just a few feet from Mumia's bed.. Clearly Mumia's chronic conditions remain undiagnosed and unsuccessfully treated. Mumia was given a skin biopsy on Monday of this week, and had been in the infirmary following that procedure. Mumia's legal team of Bret Grote of the Abolitionist Law Center, has been augmented with the addition of attorney Bob Boyle. Mumia's doctor has been speaking directly with Mumia, even though the time he has been allowed for the phone in the infirmary was limited. There is no phone at the hospital. Mumia's expert medical team has been advising Mumia on the tests and the medications that have been done. This advice has been critical, and is now not possible. As we noted in our last update oversight and close monitoring of any tests, especially the diagnostic tests are crucial. The prison is preventing Mumia and Mumia's doctors from adequate oversight and input. Because communication is being limited by prison officials Mumia does not have access quickly enough to information he needs to advocate for his own care. We are clear that Inadequate testing, delays, and any deviation from the medically necessary course of treatment, will be challenged. Obtaining a diagnosis is of paramount importance at this moment. Mumia remains seriously ill. Public pressure is extremely important. Please keep up the calls, emails and faxes. Demand that (1) Adequate diagnostic testing be done (2) That Mumia's doctor is able to communicate freely and regularly with the prison infirmary physicians who are delivering Mumia's medical care (3) His doctor has meaningful and regular phone access with Mumia. (There are no phones in the hospital, in the infirmary, his calls are limited to 15 mins and he has limited access to the phone) (4) Allow Mumia's chosen doctor to conduct an onsite medical examination. And as many have said, it is past time for Mumia to be released from prison. And please give again if you can, and ask your friends to give, we will need to keep the pressure on. Money needed! Thank you to everyone who is making
Mumia's legal and medical Care possible! With 783 supporters from around
the world, so far we have raised $46,039! UPDATE 12 MAY 2015 source: Starr Bowie, thoroswet_3@yahoo.com Public pressure has forced the prison system very recently to grant two or three concessions. It has begun to give Mumia more fruits and vegetables to eat. His sugar level has stabilized, and his swelling has gone down a little since the infirmary is giving him two daily doses of glucophage instead of the dangerously erratic "program" of insulin shots inflicted on him after his return from the hospital in early April. However, his care remains criminally substandard, and it is only public pressure that is keeping him alive. He was not given a skin biopsy, which is the first step in developing a diagnosis, until May 4. This was over a month after he had collapsed in the prison from diabetic shock (March 30), and a week after he was readmitted to the prison infirmary because of his worsening condition and the swelling of his extremities, a classic symptom of organ shut-down. He is still denied examination by specialists, phone access to report on changes in his condition and treatment, and a treatment plan developed by specialists to arrest his decline and alleviate his suffering. (see handout for details) Some unions, like the Postal Workers in New York, have joined the campaign to save Mumia's life, and solidarity protests and communications have flooded the PA prison system from around the world. An open letter signed by many people, including such celebrities as Danny Glover, Alice Walker, and Desmond Tutu was delivered on May 6 to the Governor of PA at his mansion, and Cornell West spoke in a follow-up press conference. A half-page ad appealing to the public to make its voice heard to the PA politicians and prison officials appeared on April 29 in the New York Times (p. A-7). The National Lawyers Guild has filed an appeal with Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, citing the life-threatening denial of medical care to Mumia Abu-Jamal. |