“Against The Odds” For a Worthy Cause. . .

• Date: 01 May 2022
• Published date: 01 May 2022
• Author: Antwann Johnson
• DOI: 10.1177/10439862221096730

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221096730

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2022, Vol. 38(2) 236 –238

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862221096730

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Essay

“Against The Odds” For a

Worthy Cause. . .

Antwann Johnson

My name is Antwann Johnson #524659, and I felt compelled to share with you my

personal experience with the COVID-19 pandemic while being incarcerated. To be

perfectly honest with you, what I’ve witnessed through my eyes has changed my life

forever. This is my story.

On October 16, 2020 my day started as any other day. I was preparing to check in

on my patient to begin my daily activities as a DLA (Daily Living Assistant), But all

of that would change when I was approached by the Housing Unit FUM (Functional

Unit Manager) who asked me if I would be willing to live in the Medical TCU Unit for

the purpose of giving assistance to the nurses and medical personnel who cared for

inmates that had contracted COVID-19 and were severely ill and dying.

At first, I was reluctant because this virus was still a mystery to us all. Not long

after that conversation with the FUM, I was confronted with terrible news. I was

informed that my cousin and two of my close friends had tested positive for the

COVID-19 virus. It was at this point that a sense of fear came over me. One of the

biggest reasons that I made the decision to go to the TCU Unit was so that I would be

able to face and confront my greatest fear, which is dying alone. I’ve seen firsthand

how many of the inmate patients don’t have any family or people who care about their

wellbeing. It would be two inmate patients that I grew close to while they were battling

COVID-19 who had a bittersweet ending that would ultimately give me the strength to

continue fighting for this worthy cause.

One of the patients of whom I helped to care for was Stanley, who was 64 years old

and had been diagnosed with both COVID-19 and pneumonia. He was in such bad

shape that the outside hospital sent him back to the facility and said that he would not

make it due to the fact that his lungs were so severely damaged. As he lay in his bed, I

just stared at him and imagined that it were me lying in that bed fighting for my life.

As time went on, we became close and I did all that I could to assist the nurses with

getting Stanley’s health back to where it once was. He thanked us all, because he knew

that his condition was bad and that we were doing our best to keep him alive. He

expressed to me how he didn’t have any family or friends, so I took it upon myself to

care for him as if he were my own family.

1096730CCJXXX10.1177/10439862221096730Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeJohnson

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