Hello. My name is Jermaine Dickerson, OID number, 226287. I’m calling from Correctional Facility Stillwater, in Bayport, Minnesota, and I’m going to be talking to you today about a medical issue I’m having. So, during my incarceration, I have developed many chronic illnesses, starting with Crohn’s disease, which is an autoimmune disease. It requires tons of medications, infusions every eight weeks, and extensive medical management. Due to me battling my Crohn’s, I have really – a really low immune system, which means I get sick very easily, and the wrong infection could be deadly. It’s almost impossible to stabilize this chronic disease living in a prison environment with all of the unsanitary conditions including low quality, outdated food, unsafe drinking water, and living in a communal space with hundreds of other people. And that puts me at risk of contracting a deadly illness that could take my life.
Now, from the Crohn’s disease, I also have kidney issues, which I just had a surgery last month to remove a kidney stone, and an ultrasound shows that I’m producing more stones. So, now I have four more surgeries that I have to go to for that. And also, a CT scan showed last year that I’m developing pulmonary nodules within my lungs, and what that’s doing is – that could possibly turn into cancer, cuz my mom just passed away from it, and that has to be due to the low air quality in here, too.
I met with my primary doctor here at Stillwater facility, Dr. Cranay [Sp?] on 5/5/25, and he told me that due to these chronic illnesses, I need to get some type of medical release, but he wasn’t willing to put it on record because he didn’t want to lose his job. And also, now I have chronic back issues with my spine and my tailbone area. There’s arthritis, and there’s a chance that I could be paralyzed in the next couple of years, since everything is deteriorating around my spine.
The Medical Release policy is 203.200. This policy states that I’m eligible for medical release and the rest of my time can be served on parole if I meet all three requirements, which I do: extensive medical management, low risk to public safety, and have a chronic illness, and I meet all three. So I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m trying to continue to file for medical release, and I’m continuously being denied. And if something’s not done soon, I could get really sick or catch the wrong effects, and it could take my life. So thank you for listening. Bye.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
