I don't have many details, but want everyone to know that Paul recently had a major surgery on his spine. From what I hear, he was only kept a day or two in the hospital's recovery room and then sent back to the prison.
He's in horrible pain and the prison forgot to order his pain pills. smh
I was also surprised to learn that prisoners are chained to the hospital bed posts and there is always a prison guard sitting by the door. I suppose it is possible that an inmate could escape or at least attempt to but certainly not if he just had a surgery!
If I get any updates, I'll post them here.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone who cares will send Paul a get well card and/or say a prayer for his total recovery. I'll post an update if//when I get one.
Family Member/Friend
Aw.
ReplyDeleteLet him know we care.
It's pretty common to chain prisoners to the bed. Did you hear about a prisoner in the Chicago area that was unchained for I think only one minute, and he attacked the guard and other nurses. He eventually was shot and killed by the SWAT team. I know Paul wouldn't do this, but the guard can't take any chances.
ReplyDeleteHe was sedated and could barely walk let alone harm anyone. He had bruises around his wrist and ankles because of careless guards.
DeleteBruises are unnecessary. That is brutality.
DeleteHowever, basic security procedures are still necessary.
The state he was in, they weren't really. He was sedated and could barely move. He wouldn't have been able to attack anyone even if he wanted to
DeletePoor guy .
ReplyDeleteDear Blogman: take care!
ReplyDeleteAll the best to Paul .
ReplyDeletePaul, I hope the operation fixed what was wrong with your back. You are strong. You are mighty. You are Terminator.
ReplyDeleteIt�s nearly impossible to find well-informed people in this particular topic, but you sound
ReplyDeletelike you know what you�re talking about! Thanks
Paul, prayers for a successful recovery. I sure miss your posts.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure he got horrible medical care. They let interns practice surgery like this on prisoners. He’s on his way to be crippled for life and will eventually finish out his sentence in a wheelchair writhing in pain.
ReplyDeleteWell. Aren't you a ray of sunshine.
DeleteHe's walking around pretty well for someone who is supposed to be crippled
DeleteOP, you might refrain from spreading alarmist messages like this when you don't know what you're talking about. No disrespect or anything, but what you said about surgeon interns is inaccurate.
DeleteSurgeons-in-training perform surgeries in hospitals all over the country, including on non-incarcerated patients, every day of the week. It's a thing they have to do in order to earn their credentials.
There's a reason why they say if you want to do a good job on something you already know how to do, you should mentally go over the steps in great detail as if you're teaching someone else how to do it -- the result is that you're more careful, meticulous, and thorough, and you do a better job.
The same applies to surgeons-in-training, who are always supervised by an experienced surgeon. And while patients do indeed tend to experience more complications from this, they are generally minor. On the other hand, patients also die far less frequently when supervised surgeons-in-training operate on them.
Prisoners endure abysmal medical care in general, but usually it's through the contracted Healthcare provider at the prison. I would assume Paul went to a civilian hospital. Plus, it's not like he's a frail 88 year old; he's like 45. Paul is going to be fine. Like, knock it off.
My son is in Stateville w a cell near Paul’s and he says Paul is in a lot of pain and is having trouble walking and standing.
DeleteI think you are right. Doctors in training are not jokers who walk in right off the street. They have completed med school and do what they do WELL, under supervision.
DeletePaul is not 45, he is only 43
DeleteI see Paul regularly, he is doing a lot better. He can walk uninhibited and is able to do some small workouts.
DeletePaul asked me to create a Facebook Page for the blog BTW https://www.facebook.com/otinsideblog
I read this out of curiosity. I have no idea who paul is and or if he deserves to be in prison or someone looking for attention created this so called blog. Nor do I care. I heard enough with life in prison with no possibility of parole for some one using his car ! But that person who actually killed him was set free ! Common sense here! However I have had 3 major and several minor spine surgeries and inmate or not i assure you if he was not q inmate he would have been strapped to the bed by body and arms in order to avoid him or the person who is not supposed to come out of sedation and freak out and jolt the spine! I woke up and ripped my iv out of my arm and my Cath out and tried to get out of the bed ! The recovery station nurses freaked out saying why wasn't I strapped down b4 they rushed me and did so! And guilty or not 20 years incarcerated you bet your ASS they will also have you cuffed! Cause if I was innocent or guilty if I wasn't cuffed I'd done what I had to do to get out instead of going back for life! Also 3 hours after my incident I left the hospital free to go home ! Several vertebra removed and replaced with metal! He most certainly would been able to get out if he wanted too bad enough!The world feeds into the bullshit opinions of people that never been in this situation or the risk of the guy in charge! Everyone is damned if they do and damned if they don't! Stfu unless you have facts!
Deletewe need updates. I can't sleep some nights knowing of this injustice. I moved away from Illinois because the rat bastards who sent Paul up the river for life could haul my sweet bottom away too.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to read his comparison on hospital food versus prison food.
ReplyDeleteShuddup. He probably was too sick to eat. Poor fellow.
DeleteAll the best.
ReplyDeletePlease recover quickly.
Could you write a post for us, please Paul?
I couldn't refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well
ReplyDeletewritten!
Being handcuffed to the bedposts is but another typical example of the kinds of perfunctory clinical procedure rituals bureaucracies are notorious for
ReplyDelete...just "follow the handbook" (by the letter), with no consideration for circumstance or individual situation.
Did you not hear in the news that last summer, a prisoner attacked nurses in the Chicago area, when he wasn't properly secured? That prisoner had also had surgery. Guards and medical personnel cannot take any chances! Paul is a gentleman but not all convicts are. So blame he idiots who misbehave and not the protocol that ensures the safety of the hospital staff.
DeleteThat prisoner did not just have back surgery that limited their movement.......
DeleteYou cant make up individual rules as you go along. Rules may seem silly depending on individual circumstance, but you cant make them up on the fly. Rules be rules, bro.
Delete"In May, two nurses at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva were taken hostage by a Kane County jail inmate after he got hold of the gun of a corrections officer guarding him. One of the nurses was sexually assaulted, according to a lawsuit filed in the case, before the inmate was fatally shot by police, authorities said.
ReplyDeleteLess than a month later at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, a convicted murderer who was there for treatment used a makeshift weapon to hold a corrections officer and a nursing assistant hostage."
Source: https://www.google.com/amp/www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-hospital-violence-nurses-met-20170810-story,amp.html
By the way, which hospital was he at?
ReplyDeleteUIC
DeleteThere was a prisoner in a county jail that had an operation and then attacked a few nurses because he was not chained to the bed. The guard actually ran and hid. So now they have to chain all prisoners who go to the hospital.
ReplyDeletePrisoners have always been cuffed to the bed, long before this incident occurred.
Deletefree paul modrowski
ReplyDeleteBummer. Hope you heal quickly.
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact he got horrible medical care. Prisoners are viewed as experimental animals for interns to practice on. If they duck up and slice through a nerve or perforate the colon ... oh well tough shit. He had a crappy operation. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone took a quick piss on his spine while he was out cold on the table. 🤣
ReplyDeleteOh puh-leez
Deleteoh shut up, troll
DeleteHey I created a fan page for the Blog at Paul's request.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/otinsideblog
Paul should consider creating more written posts. Usually content creators on the internet (mostly YouTube) get paid that way.
DeleteHow glad I am to see this.
DeleteUnfortunately the staff cannot take risks with prisoners. I bet that Paul was respectful of the hospital employees and the guards that were assigned to him. However, incidences have happened in the past which makes necessary a certain protocol of safety measures. I'm sure it was nothing personal towards Paul.
ReplyDeletePaul: I sincerley hope that your injuries heal and you can go back to your active routine. I miss your posts but I understand why you had to quit. We welcome you back at any time, with your insights.
If only all prisoners would find the Lord Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteTheyd believe in a silly story and still be in jail? Jesus Christ isnt going to get anyone out of prison unless he comes back soon, until then, prisoners are better off praying that the legal system fixes its faults. Paul is not religious, and he shouldnt have to be for redemption. His quarrel is with Illinois, not god.
DeletePaul, write a post!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure. You select.
ReplyDeleteWow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment
ReplyDeletebut after I clicked submit my comment didn't show
up. Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted
to say excellent blog!
My family will always be there for me, along with other supporters of my freedom, yet having my petition denied once again does leave me with a bitter, empty feeling. As long as I am alive, however, I will continue to tell my story, like a ghost haunting the living, until there is justice.
ReplyDeletePaul wrote this in October 2009, seems he forgot who he was, after the disappointment of the past few years. Let paul know what he wrote so many years ago, and tell him he lost himself somewhere along the way. Now noone knows who he is and hes losing support as the years go on and his story isnt told.
Sorry about your operation dude. Hope the long term prognosis is effective.
ReplyDeleteKeep hoping. Bless you.
ReplyDeleteI have family that were counselors in prison, sadly, many repent and find God while locked up, only to toss it all aside once released.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer they be handcuffed, better safe than sorry. Too bad your friend had to go through all of this, I do believe the prison system is sorely lacking in humane treatment at times, but for every case of prisoners having poor treatment, there is a case of another abusing trust and opportunity when given such.
Anyone who knows IDOC knows that, especially at a max prison and old prison like Stateville, it's not the care at the hospital that kills or maims you; it's the lack of follow-up medication, medical care, and concern at prison afterwards. Prison ages you prematurely; back pain is excruciating, much less surgical recovery, and there is no effort made at Stateville to accommodate you. My prayers are with you Paul.
ReplyDeleteWow, just sucks I can't defend my family if I need to legally.
ReplyDeleteImagine, how much they could make in taxes (like Wisconsin as an example).
Again we have shootings in Chicago every night by the "non law abiding citizens".
If anyone or their family gets hurt in public, they need to sue the state and city of Chicago.
Thank you for trying Mike.
WTH? How can he be convicted of lending his car to a murderer...if the murderer was acquitted?
ReplyDeleteI've thought that too. Doesn't make any sense at all. Lending one's car is never a crime, but that crooked states attorney somehow convinced jurors that it was. (Suppose I wanted to rob a bank but needed a car to do so. If you lent me your car, would you go to prison for life while I walked free?)
DeleteI've wondered the same thing for many years.... How can anyone be held accountable for what someone else does IF no crime was committed?
DeleteDear Paul, I am an old and dying man. I am leaving you a large inheritance. I made a lot of money in business, and my family passed away before me. Incredibly, I have been left alone. There may even be stories in the papers about this. Anyway, I just ask that you eventually start writing and publishing again. I have about six months to go and then I’ll be gone. Take care young man. Joe
ReplyDeleteDon't tease the poor fellow.
DeleteWow!
DeletePaul Im so sorry for the loss of your sister Bernadette. Does anybody have information on what caused her death?
ReplyDeletePaul could you come back and write just one blog post on your feelings about your sister, maybe share some memories you had with her. I cannot imagine how hard it is to lose an immediate family member while in prison.
Its been at least a month since Bernadette passed away and yet no one, not even her parents, have been able to find out what really happened to her.
DeleteThis is sad news. My codolences to the entire family.
DeleteHi there, I enjoy reading all of your post. I like to write a little comment to support you.
ReplyDeleteI would like to reiterate that prisoners in civilian hospitals are not being fastened to the table and stretched or anything like that. My husband is currently in prison, and while the medical care providers the DOC itself contracts with often leave much to be desired, no doctor anywhere is going to unzip their pants and piss on, or into, a patient's body. They don't torture them. They would lose their medical licensure. Also, torturing people is pretty mean. Whichever troll keeps saying things like that, for God's sake, stop it.
ReplyDeleteTo Paul: We miss your blog posts. Whether or not you ever take up writing again, it's pretty incredible that you collected a global readership by writing your daily observations from inside prison, where there is little to do. Many prisoners cannot even find anything to write about in letters to loved ones, so dull and chronologically identical are their days.
I hope justice will at last prevail in your case, for all it's worth. The criminal justice system is a bleeding mess, and people are beginning to catch onto it and question our approach to righting wrongs. I daresay the orange clown in the White House will contribute nothing to criminal justice reform, but it will come eventually. It will. I am a huge pessimist, but even I believe 100% that change is on the horizon. Hang in there, Paul.
@Cassie, thank you for the updates. It's kind of you to take time out of your day to let Paul's readership know what's happening in his life. Some people have become emotionally invested in this injustice and in Paul personally, and it's a strange sort of disconnected purgatory to be plunged into the dark and left standing there with questions that don't have answers.
I remind everyone that Paul's mailing information is available online (includong here on the blog) and that you can always write him to see how he's doing. Most prisoners delight in receiving mail, and I've gathered from this blog that Paul is no exception and generally welcomes your letters. Be warned that prison mail, both incoming and outgoing, is often sluggish, and that your letters will be opened and inspected before they are passed to Paul. So you may want to keep the mail and property rules in mind and use the opportunity for correspondence with Paul prudently, or they will only confiscate your letter.
Much love and respect.
No problem, I like to update people especially when they are completely wrong about something.
DeleteSorry for the late response, just saw this now
You name it and South Africa has an abundance of it.
ReplyDeleteYou’ve got a surprise new guest joining you on your tier Paul!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your surgery.
ReplyDeleteWe're you really a small time criminal, as the old news articles say?
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that's both equally educative and amusing,
ReplyDeleteand let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is
something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about.
Now i'm very happy that I found this in my hunt for something regarding
this.
I heard about his story by listening to an old podcast of Reply All. I now have read most of this blog. May I inform various law schools of Paul's dilemma? This is certainly an interesting case study.
ReplyDeleteYou can try, many of them deny Paul's case.
DeleteDudes, really, chill, don't cry for Paul's lousy healthcare, worry about yours. Doctors are employees who look out for the bottom line of their companies/hospitals so they are simply drug and procedure dealers. Nobody ever gets healed of jack, everyone gets drugged up and operated on until his insurance says stop then is more pills then a nice memorial service so the garbage Paul's gets as healthcare is what you get as well at your hospitals then outpatient facilities, no exceptions. Healthcare is into profits, is a business, healing...not so much but be nice to them doctors, they just don't know any better so is not like they know how to heal and refuse to do it, they just don't know. If you guys behave i might teach you a trick or two :p, look, I'll throw in something to make you salivate over: throw away all your cholesterol pills, nobody EVER dies of high cholesterol, people die of too low a cholesterol level hehe...See how much you learn from coming to this forum? Throw away your cholesterol pills, you need cholesterol, is the material for all your hormones and no cholesterol...no hormones...you lower your cholesterol at your own risk. See you all later hehehe
ReplyDeleteHas anyone attorney group tried to help his case? Is there a facebook group who is supportive of his release?? My email is t.sweetwood@ yahoo.com.
ReplyDeleteI think the Reply All podcast about Paul and his blog....was not helpful. But. That wasnt their plan probably. Sad.
ReplyDeleteAn IDOC inmate escaped from a Chicago hospital last fall,it happens
ReplyDeleteNot the same hospital Paul was at.
DeleteYeah but the staff wants to be cautious in regards to prisoners. Don't blame the staff or the guards. Blame the inmates which have caused troubles while hospitalized.
DeleteI have to thank you for the efforts you've put in writing this website.
ReplyDeleteI really hope to check out the same high-grade content by you later on as
well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get
my own, personal website now ;)
I was curious if you ever considered changing the page layout of your site?
ReplyDeleteIts very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of
content so people could connect with it better. Youve
got an awful lot of text for only having one or 2
images. Maybe you could space it out better?
How is Paul’s back doing? What kind of injury did he have? Does he have any long term disability or pain? How did he end up getting sent back to Stateville without the hospital making sure he had pain pills?
ReplyDeleteI assume the prison employee in charge simply failed to make sure pain pills would be available for an inmate who just had surgery on his spine. I think he went several days without any meds. Last I heard, he still has pain in his lower back (and swelling) but a guard told him they'd be taking him to see the surgeon again.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about your back but hopefully his doctor fixxed the problem.
ReplyDeleteWell maybe he won’t get shipped off to Marion federal prisoner swap due to his medical issues. He was supposed to be going to a Communications Control Unit or something I read.
ReplyDeleteYeah if I were him — I hate to say it — but I’d be doing some serious malingering. That Marion CMU is NOT any place he wants to end up in. Not in his worst nightmare. I’d be telling those Stateville Correctional folks that I needed a wheelchair in my cell just to make it 3 feet to the commode. 😑
ReplyDeleteIf he still has pain and swelling it sounds like they had a medical intern operate on him like a guinea pig and who screwed him up. Prisoners are considered to be suitable for use as experimental animals. They have no rights, and can’t pick or screen doctors or surgeons.
ReplyDeleteIs Paul stuck in a wheelchair now?
ReplyDeleteI’ve wondered too. I’ve heard he’s in bad shape now maybe even worse than before his back surgery. All those years of heavy power lifting ruined his spine. He overdid it and unfortunately the prison did not provide him and other with classes on proper lifting techniques.
ReplyDeletePaul wouldnt have taken classes if they were offered. Hes MASTER LIFTER, according to him. HES JUST TOO STRONG...
DeletePrisons should absolutely be funded for P.E. Instructors to train inmates in the proper use of sports equipment — to help them avoid injuries like Paul’s busted back.
ReplyDeleteWhen is Paul going to have his back operated on again? I guess he won’t be lifting any heavy weights anymore and will have to stick to the basketball court and calisthenics.
ReplyDeleteWheelchair bound? He should be transferred to the prison in Dickson.
ReplyDeleteIs Paul partially paralyzed now?!
ReplyDeleteAttended the Joliet Prison fundraiser. It was surreal to be standing in that prison yard watching a rock band play by the chapel. Food trucks and vendors serving up pizza, hot dogs, tacos and sausage in the main prison yard. I saw people walking through the little 24 cell segregation cell house with beers and cell phone cameras in their hands. Buzzed pretty women running around in Daisy Duke shorts and miniskirts. I tried to imagine all the suffering that had taken place in the prison over the last 150 years. The monsters that have roamed these grounds. I tried to imagine Paul's story about living in the West cell house and having his cellmate make an ill-advised fire in the cell to try to stay warm. It was difficult in the carnival like atmosphere but maybe I will pay to take a private tour. Anyway I do hope they preserve Joliet Prison. It is history for better or worse. Just like the Confederate statutes, it needs to be preserved.
ReplyDeleteCould Paul possibly be a candidate for experimental stem cell therapy? He might try applying through the warden’s office.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know but call me grandmotherly I’m sending him a care package with some antiperspirant, baby powder, and shampoo for him to use in the men’s locker room after showering. Hope he likes it!
DeleteHello Paul. It’s a big wonderful bright crazy world out here. I’m sure you dream of being out here every day. Well, maybe one day you will be! Cheer up mate!
ReplyDeleteHow's Paul doing?
ReplyDeleteThat’s like asking someone how life in hell is.
DeleteHow's his back?
DeleteI’m worried he’s not doing well and may end up in a wheelchair from his botched back surgery. And they may even operate again? Wow. He could end up paralyzed
ReplyDelete