I was a Director of Nursing at a large prison in the state of Georgia. It was not a glamorous or a overly important job position. I believe I had six employees. We did care for fifteen hundred inmates and I used many agency nurses to assist us.
One of my duties was to order and then to pick up the monthly supplies for the medical unit. It was usually quite the expedition. I was required to have an officer with me at all times. I also took an inmate orderly with me to lift the boxes.
One of the medical orderlies, Mr. N had attained Trusty status which means his security risk was the lowest. Trusty inmates have not been in any trouble for many years and have no discipline reports. Which is good. We liked Trusty orderlies to work in medical and places like the Warden’s office. Mr. N was also a Christian. He was one of the rare felons who would look you in the eye and tell you he was guilty and deserved to be in prison. Everyone else was innocent, of course.
One day Mr. N, the officer, and myself took off with a huge buggy to the laundry to get supplies. You had to go through the hot laundry room to get to the warehouse area. Before the warehouse is an anteroom. Almost a cage really. A prison is full of locked cages.
I picked up the supplies. The buggy over flowed so a supply orderly was helping us. Several inmates and I were in the anteroom and the officer left me. He left me there in the anteroom with four felons and no one else. It was an awful breach of protocol. Yes, I was afraid. Then Mr. N stepped closer to me and said, “Nothing will happen to you as long as I am here” with quiet confidence. You see, he was respected because of his faith and how he served others in that place. He was also six feet tall and had huge biceps.
Size is not always a factor however. I saw little guys fight like crazy in the prison system too. I witnessed the aftermath of stabbings and many terrible things I will not discuss further.
My being left in that cage shook me. After that I demanded a radio. Which I was given reluctantly. A radio can save you in a bad situation and keep you informed of the happenings in that walled and gated city. I kept that radio with me. It was my buddy.
Mr. N, though it was not planned, actually was moved to the prison I transferred to just before I retired. It was such a blessing to see him care for the sick inmates in our little prison hospital. He became a Certified Nursing Assistant via classes my supervisor taught.
He has been released. He is home with his wife who stood by him through sixteen years of incarceration for robbing an ATM machine. They have nine children.
He was my guardian angel that day. The reality of what could have happened is unspeakable. He stood in the breach. God placed him there for me that day. He was an answer to a quick prayer.
I am linking with Cindy at I Owe It All to Him for her link party. Please visit and read the other accounts of how people have made a difference in the most special ways.
To better understand Christ’s view of the care and treatment of prisoner’s read Matthew 25:31-46.
grace surrounds us
Olive
