“Anne”
(Interview Conducted April 2021)
“Anne” was incarcerated at a facility with 2,000 individuals during the initial onset of the pandemic. In the March 2020 lockdown, the prison didn’t shut down the way the rest of the world did. Inmates continued to work alongside one another, and most believed the pandemic was happening on the outside. With limited information coming from within the prison, “Anne” incessantly watched CNN for answers. She says it wasn’t long before the virus made its way into the prison and rapidly spread. People were abruptly separated and herded into warehouses with little heat. Those under suspicion of having Covid-19 would be isolated in a gymnasium with 100 other people - creating an unstable environment causing people that weren’t sick to become sick. Contrary to the information provided to the public, “Anne” claims bleach and disinfectant weren’t readily available for maintaining safety and cleanliness throughout the facilities. Communication around deaths was also minimal, and she had to network with others to figure out who was in the hospital and who hadn’t made it back. Based on this networking, she and others believe that all deaths were not accurately reported. In May, two days before testing became available to the prison, “Anne” suspected she had contracted Covid-19 when her roommate mentioned not being able to taste or smell her coffee. After testing positive, she rode out Covid-19 with 25 other positive people while quarantined in the gymnasium - most of them experiencing mild-moderate symptoms. Everyone was scared and didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully, “Anne” did not end up in the hospital. Still, after her release earlier this year, “Anne” has spent most of her time seeing a slew of specialists: a cardiologist, pulmonologist, ENT, electrophysiologist, general surgeon, etc. Doctors have found she has limited lung capacity due to Covid-19, and recent abnormalities have appeared during a lung function test. Follow up CT scans show a thickening of the soft tissue in her throat, indicating that her airways are narrowing. It’s been challenging to discern which health issues are a direct result of Covid-19, exacerbated from Covid-19, or linked to years of lacking medical care, pre-existing health conditions, and her previous trauma (PTSD). “Anne” is also experiencing typical Long Covid symptoms such as brain fog and chronic fatigue. However, she does not personally believe all her symptoms are severe enough to be considered a “long-hauler.” As “Anne” continues her recovery, she hopes her story can provide some insight into the experiences of a population often neglected or silenced and asks for people to “not always believe everything you see or hear.”
*Hear more of “Anne’s” story below in her Zoom Interview.
