When I was in academy training for correctional officers, they told us to look at each other as brothers and sisters ... to watch each other's backs, because inside that prison with as many as 63 inmates in each pod out at a time, we're all we have.
I spent 2 and a half years doing just that, when I got a call on the radio... inmate vs staff fight, weapons involved ...
I dropped the cell search I was doing and sprinted for the door, but when I got there I jammed my left foot against the door post and tore a ligament. I felt the pain, but I ran down that hallway anyway. I was the first officer to arrive on the scene, only to see the Sargent standing in the hallway with a stopwatch.... 32 seconds after the call. I was medically retired from corrections 1 year after this event, because I could no longer conduct counts (could not walk up and down stairs).
If only .... I had destroyed my career in corrections saving another officer .... but thank god nobody else was hurt, and there wasn't a real fight. To this day I sometimes have difficulty just walking or standing because of the pain, and I have doctor's orders to never run again - ever. The torn ligament was the shock absorber that takes the shock of impact so that your ankle doesn't bear that load .... if I tried to run without it, I would shatter my ankle bones. It attaches to the top of the foot and threads through the ankle itself and then attaches to the back of the calf .... surgery would have cost me 25,000 dollars up front, even with Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage ... without it, 140,000 dollars. I can't afford it, so, I live with it.
Thank's for listening to my story. I hope you get through the pain and can continue in law enforcement, brother!
