An MUSC Nightmare
I am a black person. There is another person in my town with the same name who is white and is only a few years older than me. (Hi Karen!😁) I would go to the pharmacy and they sometimes get our medications mixed up. So no political statement here. Just tryin' to keep people out of her hair!
Go to "Supporting Documents" tab to see entry #24
of the May 29th, 2020 polygraph for verification.
Full
disclosure for context:
I
am a black person.
I had a #cancer diagnosis, so I was
trying to keep chemicals out of my hair and off my skin. I usually wore a wig. I
have since gone back to chemicals because their hostility scared the heck out
of me. (I am now blonde.)
Into a New Era of Violence
Ok, so we're 2 years into President Trump's reign
as president, and as predicted, #cops (or #officers if you prefer) are in more of a butt kicking
mood of #people than before.
And is it any surprise? 8 years of pent up anger
of a man that looks like their favorite suspects to wail on was running the
country.
So, I took a polygraph
test in January of 2017 to try not to be in law enforcement's unnecessary line
of fire.
Incident 1
Someone was riding my tail while I was entering
the on ramp onto the interstate. I tapped the brakes to let them know they were
to close.
Turned out to be a #Charleston, SC #policeofficer. He flashed his car mounted
light into my face. I was gripping the wheel for dear life as he (or she) lined
his car next to mine and begin to guide me into the shoulder; then onto the
grass. I was freaking out. He then sped off.
Incident
2
The following year after
a #car
accident in which I had broken my nose, I had an infection in my face. I had to
be hospitalized with an infection from a complication from my nose fracture. #MUSC did not run my blood
work. It sat on the chair in my room until morning.
I was in so much pain
and was met with 13 students and 3 doctors. They began to go over my PTSD
record from my past rape in the hallway for all to hear. I pointed out to the
doctor that I was uncomfortable with students discussing my record in the
hallway, and that I was still in pain, and that I my blood work was never run.
She brushed off my concerns and went back to her
students. I said I would like to speak to a patient advocate. And then I said
the magic words that seem to set off anyone here with an ounce of authority.
"I have rights."
Big mistake.
She gave me her best Nazi, blue-eyed glare over
her glasses and icily said, "You know, I can hospitalize you if I wanted
to." This was clearly to save face in front of her students. I did not
budge.
"#Advocate now. I don't want your services and would like a
second opinion. Under the law, I have a right to be transferred to another
hospital if requested."
I got dressed and asked the charge nurse to sign
me out. She left; when she was gone long enough for me to believe she wasn't
coming back, I left the hospital.
Dr. Third Reich told a judge I was a threat to my
safety and sent 4 linebacker officers to my place from the North Charleston #police department.
(Home of Michael Slager; are you really
surprised?)
They acted like I had committed a #crime; I was slammed to the ground face first and
handcuffed. I could hear something that scared me above all for the first time
up front and personal.
"I can't breathe."
This is a screenshot from my 2018 car accident. The officers slammed me on my stomach 9 months after the 2017 assault at Roper. St. Francis.
It took a minute to realize I was going out this way. That I
was, in spite of being called bougie and Tom,
black.
I had an accident from being needed slammed to to
the ground on my stomach and needed to change. They would not let me change my
underwear or pants. The EMT (Taylor) then wanted to get in on the act and
threatened to "Tase" me if I gave him any trouble.
Mind you, this was a medical pick up order
because they were "concerned for my safety".
The
swelling was still present the day they came as well as the pain.
Back to MUSC
After they took me back, they
put me in a psychiatric room on camera where I had to take my pants off and was naked from the waist down on camera to clean myself with
towelettes while they watched. I was so filled with fear and #shame. I was so scared.
A young psychiatrist tried to
gently tell me that I had to let the students treat me. I pointed out that
Trident Medical Center had the state of South Carolina's Bill of Patients
Rights on the wall, and that being allowed to be transferred to another hospital
was listed. I also pointed out that I had the right to refuse care.
At this point, I was still full
of adrenaline shame and outrage. I stood my ground on this and let him know
this would not be acceptable. So, after reminding him of my right to a second
opinion and that I didn't have to have MUSC's services and could move on, he
backed off and tried another approach.
They put me in a room for a
week and pumped me full of antibiotics to get rid of an infection in my body.
I
smiled and said to the doctor when she came back into to the room smiling
at me. I said that I was grateful for what she did to keep her from doing more
to me.
I had been bleeding from my vaginal area after I got to the hospital. I had
thought I had been pregnant but wasn't sure. I asked for a pregnancy test
since they were about to take a scan of me with dye. The nurse said that it
wasn't necessary. (Will take a lie detector test if necessary to this fact.)
I was afraid they would do more, so I chose to wait to leave the hospital. (And
doctors did; more on that in An Unwanted Visitor.) So I said nothing else about
the bleeding.
When I left, they didn't pack my wound in my
face. They gave me gauze and tweezers and said good luck and left. I packed
with the tape gauze and had to go to the nurse's station for a face mask to
keep more air from reaching the wound before I left the hospital.
I don't know how it happened, but over time my hometown has turned into an
openly hostile, hate driven haven full of more breweries than churches and
civilized citizens.
The Old and New of Charleston Police Brutality
This
kind of harassment isn't an isolated issue for
blacks only in Charleston. As an Uber driver, I spoke with College of
Charleston students who have also experienced excessive force and harassment as well.
I'm not saying you wouldn't enjoy a vacation or a destination wedding here. I'm
saying for safety of family, friends, and business associates that you should
think carefully before you believe what Conde Naste is telling you about here.
Please subscribe to notifications in the upper right corner. Don't hesitate to
share this post with as many people as you feel comfortable. Who knows? Someone
else may have had similar issues and can see they are not alone.
Thank you! To see what led up to
the events on this post, please see An Unexpected Visitor.
To Action!
If you are a victim of
assault of the above nature, do not hesitate to
1)Get a notebook and take down everything you remember that happened. Any evidence from that night take with you in a ziploc or plastic bag.
2) Contact RAINN or another organization to speak about getting resources and possibly a group in your area. An Advocate is ideal here.
3) If you can afford one, take a polygraph. The more work done that law enforcement doesn't have to cover, the better. Remember, this is a he said/she said situation in this culture that is really now in your favor thanks to #MeToo. Use it!!!
4) Get a lawyer. There are pro bono services available on this website below for each of the 50 states.
5) Get in contact (with an attorney) with law enforcement. You may forget some things and still be out of it. Unfortunately, members of law enforcement that do their jobs the right way and don't attack people just because forget that they can be very scary for some of us. Take someone with you if you feel you need to.
6)ACLU
office as well as the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division at
www.doj.gov/civilrights. If you go in person to the office to file a
complaint: TAKE SOMEONE WITH YOU. Takes the "he said/she said" down
somewhat, and also if something happens to two of you instead of one, people are
more likely to do more than raise an eyebrow.
(Disclaimer: The above statement is true to the best of my knowledge and
recollection.)
