Let’s just talk about this….
When I was in grad school, the state would threaten me with jailtime for being diabetic (that’s the quick and dirty). What I did was ALWAYS have a few weeks of medications on my person. I have a giant purse for that. Jail nurses & jail medical care can be kinda ■■■■. Diabetics die in jail, so it’s not a small concern for us. If you are someone who is at risk of losing consciousness due to a medical condition, it’s OK to write the name of that condition (say “epilepsy”) in permanent marker on your body where they are guaranteed to see it without removing clothing (army medics would write it directly onto your forehead).
This is a great time for anybody with a medical condition to have their med tags in order. What is a med tag? Med tags are like dog tags (like soldiers wear in the army). They state your name, medical conditions, and any medications you take. Those should be of a sturdy quality (like an army dog tag) that can’t be torn off you during a physical confrontation.
It’s OK to have a lawyers number written somewhere on your body with permanent market if you are walking into a high risk situation (or, just for the next couple weeks). You want to talk to that person BEFORE anything bad happens.
If you are a diabetic, know that your insulin pump is likely to be taken from you so I need you to KNOW, by memory, how much insulin you take via a syringe dose (background and meal insulin). You may need to do some testing NOW in order to know what that dose is. Tell your doctor what that dose is. You should not expect to be able to self administer insulin. Nurses will likely under administer insulin to prevent lows. They do that in hospitals and they do that in jails because it decreases their immediate liability. But the result is that you are very likely to get very sick, very quickly. Eating might not be an option while you are detained if they run you super high. They will. That makes it REALLY important that you have an attorney immediately - not after 2 days - Immediately. https://diabetes.org/sites/default/files/2025-01/The-Legal-Right-to-Medical-Care-in-Detention-Facilities-Fact-Sheet-2023.pdf If this situation arises, I want a call made to American Diabetes Association IMMEDIATLEY. The lawyer or family needs to do that.
