For the past six weeks I’ve been taking an allergy pill. I would like to purchase my own pills from the commissary, as they do not require a prescription. Yet, to receive the allergy pills, the rules at Taft Prison Camp require that I pass through health services procedures. That means I must sign up for sick call, wait for an appointment, then go through a diagnosis. A nurse can then qualify me to receive the allergy pills during the pill dispensary time frame, in the morning, noon, or late afternoon.
I take the allergy pill because, apparently, I’m allergic to something in this area that causes congestion and fluid buildup in my ears. The symptoms make me tired and dizzy. When I’m taking the allergy pill, I don’t feel the symptoms at all. Since this past Saturday, however, I haven’t been able to take the allergy pill because my institutional prescription expired.
This morning the dizziness returned, and some nausea came with it. I was able to write through page 206 of the manuscript for Earning Freedom, though I’m disappointed that I couldn’t produce more. I signed up for sick call, but my appointment isn’t scheduled until Thursday, so I’ll have to cope with the symptoms until then.
Despite the allergies, I eked out eight miles on the track this morning, bringing my tally to 1,945 miles. I would have liked to have run the final two miles, but I had to cut the run short in order to sign up for the sick-call appointment. These rigid schedules are a part of prison life. Even so, I now have run 221 consecutive days, and I expect to continue exercising each day until my release. I don’t think a thousand days will pass, but that is a possibility if my release date doesn’t change.
PDF 
