Day 3 - 6/25/21

Actual Journal Entry:

“Took a Seroquel (I think) last night. I think I slept a little better. Time stands still here. I wonder what is going on in the WORLD. Maybe I’ll find out soon. Life in the SHU is sleeping, waiting for the next meal, reading, trying to find writing material, working out, shower, more sleeping, repeat. A few interactions with the COs and other stuff. After 3 days in, I’ll say it: This is inhumane. According to what E says, 11 days left for me and hopefully off to 'the Camp'."

Notes for Day 3 (Four Years Later)

This was the first day they had given me any medicine. Due to my past and current medical conditions, I was on four different medications that were critical for my health and to prevent strokes. (I'd had twenty or more between 2012 and 2015.) Healthcare in the SHU was haphazard, but given the unit's normal purpose in non-pandemic times, perhaps that was to be expected. Still, it wasn't uncommon to be given sleep medication in the morning and a stimulant (for depression) at night. Eventually, you just found a way to manage it.

The noise and commotion were non-stop. It seemed we were all congregated on one or two blocks, even though, as I would find out later, there were many more empty blocks available. E explained that everyone was assigned a roommate with no exceptions—a mandatory policy put in place because of a recent high-profile "suicide." Thanks, Mr. Epstein.

For my first couple of days in the SHU, I was under the terrifying impression that this was my fate for the next five years. The guards in intake provided very little information. E just laughed and said, "I'm going to the camp in like seven days, and you are too, as soon as your quarantine is done."

I asked, "What’s the difference?" E replied, "Big difference. There’s no fence for one thing…"

Interesting…