I work in a state run mental institution. I work with ladies between 18-40-ish. I've always thanked God that no one with LTFA s has ever been admitted. There's no way they'd make it... Especially if psychotic

Here's a similar story for asthma ...


Tweeted by @charlesornstein


"Police failed to heed pleas as man died, reports say"
http://www.latimes.com/local/crime/la-me-lapd-custody-death-20140823-story.html#page=1

Quote"I can't breathe, I can't breathe," he pleaded. "I have asthma, I have asthma."

QuoteNumerous LAPD officers and sergeants heard his pleas for medical attention but ignored them even as his condition visibly worsened.

QuoteWhen paramedics arrived shortly after, Azucena's heart had stopped.

You wouldn't be able to keep a MedicAlert bracelet.

Here's the quick & dirty.

Remain polite. Use your pleases and thank yous. Teach your kids your landline numbers, know them by heart. NOT cell phones. Have your kids ask politely if they could please have a small piece of paper and golf pencil to write down parent landline phone numbers.

Self-report a life threatening medical condition that requires epinephrine. The more specifics the more credibility. Ask politely for a sergeant or corporal in booking, please. Report that information to that person directly and/or when at the booking stage.

Do not ask for bottled water. Ask for a sealed container, banana, maybe an apple when you are offered food.

Pray it's jam-packed and you get released early.

Also, don't protest anything where you'd get OC sprayed.

I don't think medical alert jewelry would have helped this man. They said they had a file on him with his medical history. They knew he was allergic but like so many people, must have thought it wasn't that big of a deal. As for having it on him when he collapsed, they probably would have made him remove it when he was booked.

...another good reason to have an wear medical alert jewelry.

The instability there is even though all places are run by same or similar regulations, regulatory bodies, there's still room to interpret how that is implemented in operation. Some people function *better* on the inside because of that regulation with regard to diabetes because food and meds are on a medical schedule for the individual.

But for contamination it's hell. I don't have a better word for it than that. For perspective I can tell you I'm not sure I could manage allergens and make personal safety and group safety paramount knowing what I know about food prep. Then there's the transport of the food by staff that is on their toes making sure safety and order first... you see contamination, compelling a hand wash, that becomes a no-win situation because then it becomes a power play game as it does with anything on the inside.

Think big, bored, violent toddlers with adult brain, street smart PhDs. That's not even covering what it takes to get through to a deputy who in order to stay alive, in one piece and unmolested, is going to assume you're at something or having a panic attack which happens often enough. I mean you really, REALLY have to watch out for your own butt, the butt of co-workers and the collective butts in custody. Nothing can put everyone at risk for a riot then everyone is f'd.

It's not that they don't care, they do, but the circumstances are such that life threats are literally everywhere all the time. It's one more that, while urgent, has to be done treated where proximal danger is already omnipresent, they'd have to figure out if it's a ploy or real. 99.999% is ploy and falling for the wrong one could also get someone killed.

I would think they should take the Allergic Girl model where she shows the cost of investing in protocols and equipment to avoid contamination is lower than not. Hiring outside catering per meal or flagging that for a dedicated person to manage in a kitchen would probably have to happen. Then the jail commander is going to have to deal with protocols for recognition and getting medical in which is faster than getting the person out to medical. Possibly.

Overall I don't think they have ANY tools on how to deal with FA.

Could type I diabetes serve as a model, here?

Similar risks and similar medical vigilance/responsibility.  I know (from the Beta-Spouse) that this is a major concern among T1D, too.  It's one of those major bogeymen in your head as a parent.

I know that I've spend many years advising my firebrand, social-justice oriented child that she MUST NEVER risk arrest via civil disobedience because of this risk.  Not unless she TRULY thinks that her cause and that arrest/detention is (literally) worth her life.

We've also had the discussion that if she were ever in juvenile custody for ANY reason-- she is to refuse all food. Period.  Bottled water, okay-- but nothing else.  For as long as it takes.

How much does it suck to have this kind of conversation with a 3-7yo child?   A lot.     But not as much as it would suck to have a well-meaning first responder kill my kid if I were incapacitated.  KWIM?

Well, turning yourself in is the right thing to do somewhere down from don't do anything you need to turn yourself in for in the first place. There's sort of a rhythm of turn yourself in at the right time like late Friday evening and most likely for a minor non-violent charge you would be released at a higher priority and lower requirement (like your own recognizance or responsible party) at a faster rate. No one in the portion where you turn yourself in is there anyone that can guarantee the terms of your release. I fully believe mom provided the meds. I also support mom's law suit (I think she should sue and receive MORE than $10M) because that's expected when you fail like this it's one of the few ways change is actually made. A large, large portion of my training consisted of past failures that resulted in wrongful death lawsuits. Custody is set, anyone working on the inside knows the rules, and ultimately they failed to provide basic welfare and the bs about it wasn't recorded is nonsense.

You are not going to get 'safe' food on the inside and I saw this as a crisis a few years ago when I realized the first wave of children in the rise of food allergies were now coming of age in adult incarceration. They have no idea WTF to do about it, really not even where to start, or how a response of that sort needs to be addressed within the context of security, and what lodging priority for MOU an inmate with LTFA should have relative to others. You'd almost need to enact a suicide protocol upon intake for wellchecks and flag the kitchen immediately with a system for confirmation.

I originally read that the mom turned him in or pressured him to turn himself in, after verifying that they would take care of him. I think maybe there was an understanding they would not hold him overnight, but release him.  It's awful. I am actually surprised he ate anything .

Good point-- I've always felt that way, as well-- that I'd do pretty much ANYTHING to avoid incarceration...

and I've impressed that point on our DD, too-- that eating ANYTHING in that situation is pretty much Russian Roulette. 

{shudder}

I'm not excited by the prospect but should I write something up on making your best chance of surviving if arrested? In a hypothetical what would I do I'm not giving out medical or legal advice? I'm also not going to give out anything that would violate the safety of anyone working there because responsibility #1 is don't get arrested in the first place. That is not to victim blame because no matter what you do once in custody basic welfare is the responsibility of whoever the jailer is, but it truly is a place the most ill-equipped place I can possibly think of for food anaphylaxis. And that must be factored in to personal risk-reward calculus but sometimes it's circumstance.

Jail, not prison. That means it's not guards, aka correction officers, but correctional deputies. The true horror is there is almost always someone screaming, banging walls. He absolutely should have been in MOU or at least had someone from MOU sent to his holding cell if he was still in the intake area. The guy did the right thing he turned himself in, and if he had his meds or needed more frequent checks his cell should have been flagged for risk and designated for frequent checks. Despite this story the welfare of in custody is supposed to be high priority.

I can tell you all knowing exactly how food is processed there--this needs a complete overhaul. From kitchen to medical to risk profile to response. It is one of the last places you want to be with food allergies. I'd rather pick a transocean flight with my super allergic kiddo then incarceration for response on anaphylaxis.

What's harsh is for his charges, for turning himself in, if he hadn't yet been lodged he may have been released. I wonder how DOJ would handle that re: ADA.

Yeah-- the authorities in this case apparently tried to deny that full video surveillance footage existed for quite some time.

It does, and it's chilling.  The food allergic young man does everything right; first checking and double checking re: his food, with other guards, and then seeking medical assistance after just a few bite, and YELLING/trying to attract attention once he was returned to his cell.

The entire thing transpires over quite a lengthy period of time.  It took him over 20 minutes to collapse-- but he was very definitely aware that he was anaphylaxing after the first few bites of food (which he'd been--repeatedly-- assured was milk-free).  All on tape.

The family just filed last month and the video was just turned over recently.  All the news stories are within the last couple of days.

So this happened in 2012? Anyone know the outcome? The mother was filing a $10 million law suit.