Two concussions in a month. Some would say neither would've happened if I didn't work in a prison. I would say that I'm accountable for the decisions I made. Like I said before, I'm not the wisest person when it comes to taking risks. These two concussions make eight that I've had. This time was different. Normally you have a headache for a few days and come out of it. This time was not that.
I started experiencing balance issues especially when using peripheral vision. Driving and walking, when looking left or right. I noticed that I would veer sideways slightly. Falling off the curb so to speak. As days past the symptoms worsened.
I noticed that I was very easily distracted by lights, sound, and movement. Driving at night was impossible. Car lights coming towards me were blinding. It wasn't just single headlights, it was an aura of lights.
Then I started having great difficulty focusing on details and forgetting what I was saying or thinking about. It all came on gradually, but once the symptom was there; combined with others...thing became very confusing. I had never experienced anything like this before. I went to a neurologist and he sent me to be checked for meneires disease. Which of course I didn't have.
Then the Doctor sent me to balance therapy. When I got there I noticed that almost all the other patients were in their 80's. They strapped me on to a line that was connected to a pulley system that went across the room. Then guided me through obstacles.
An exercise that most people could do blindfolded was extremely difficult. Certain movements made me crash to the left or right followed by severe nausea. I would lose vision as I had to close my eyes to correct the dizziness.
It was clear to me very quickly that working in the prison was going to be very problematic. You have to be able to observe that which is going on around you at all times. I didnt tell anyone at work what was happening to me. I just kept hoping that the symptoms would subside.
The neurologist eventually gave me a diagnosis of post-concussion syndrome, or PCS. He told me that it will either get better or it won't. In researching it I found a documentary called "I AM." It was a film about a man who had PCS. While he was enduring it, he had many profound life changes and questions that led him on a unique journey. The film was very helpful to me as it gave me hope.
I continued to go to work but minimized walking around as much as possible. Some staff apparently witnessed my struggles; as I was drug tested several times. No one asked me what was going on. This was very typical of my experiences there.
I started receiving hang-up calls on my home phone, it was odd. I would pick-up and say hello and there was a long pause and then a click. It was always on my landlines and not on my cell phone.
One afternoon I came home to a handwritten letter in my mailbox. I didn't recognize the return name on it. I opened it and inside was a one-page handwritten letter that said "I know where you live." I gasped and continued to read..."My family has a trailer through the woods behind your house. I know the trail from it to your house. I used to hunt back there when I was a kid. When I get home I'm going to walk that trail and watch you through your windows. Then I'm going to make you mine. I can't wait to see you again."
Terrified is the only description I can give. I had no idea who this person was, other than an inmate. Or someone pretending to be an inmate. Mail from a prison is usually stamped with the facility it came from. This letter did not have a stamp.
I had a male roommate and I shared the letter with him. He and I went for a walk on the trails in the woods behind my house. We found that one of the paths did indeed lead to a trailer in another subdivision.
My roommate was a security guard and was always armed. He knew about the inmate that lived next door and now the letter. I told him about the hang-up calls. He also knew about the officer that had followed me on several occasions. He became very protective towards me and was constantly checking in on me.
We talked about the fact that this could have something to do with officers and inmates thinking that I knew who was smuggling suboxone into the prison. I thought that was a stretch. He thought they were definitely linked.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned.
This is beginning to be horrifying…