I Need That Wheelchair

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“Excuse me nurse!” interrupted this inmate with walker who just came back from being treated from the county’s ER. He claimed he fell and continued to have numbness on his right leg. That it would be difficult to walk with the walker and preferred the wheelchair instead.

I was returning the wheelchair to our storage area, which the deputy used to wheel him back to the Infirmary when they got back at the Intake yard from the hospital.

“Do you think I can still use that? I think I can move around better with it than this walker. I need that wheelchair!!!” he requested.

I didn’t answer him. I just looked at him. He stopped talking. I didn’t need to explain anything. Because the charge nurse already explained to him what was about to happen with his care. He slowly turned his gaze away from me toward the tv set up on the wall when he sensed that I wouldn't dare to speak nor explain.

He claimed he was having numbness on his right leg. But all the tests came back negative. He didn’t know we were watching him earlier before he was let in to be examined by the charge nurse. He did okay ambulating with the front-wheeled walker.

“The tests were all negative,” explained the charge nurse.

“We can’t allow you to use the wheelchair at this time because you don’t fall into that criteria where we need to give you one,” she continued.

“Our jail doctor will re-examine you this morning. So just go back to your unit and we’ll see you again in the morning,” she explained.

He didn’t know, the medical staff is always careful issuing any equipment. They are all potential weapons. Some inmates use them, to make their medical condition appear worse. So that when they go to court to see the judge, they try to show or act that they are not in the best of health to commit whatever crime they were charged for. They might know some loopholes in the system. But we, nurses, are careful, too not to be tricked into the kind of games they play. We see the facts, the symptoms and we go from there. Along with the custody staff’s input as they observe them more closely and their behavior is different when they are in their particular units.

We all make requests, too. Through prayers. We know what we need. We know what we want. We may not be playing a game. But we pray not to change God’s mind and make Him give all the stuff that we need. We pray to change ours! And make our lives aligned to what He willed for us. We need to remain silent instead and tune in to what He planned for each of our lives. God knows everything even before we ask. It’s us who need to trust in Him and draw nearer to Him.

Why trust God?

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” - Isaiah 43:1-3


“All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.” - Isaiah 43:7

“For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert!.” - Isaiah 43:19

God delights in doing something new. He delights in making us a part of His plan. But sometimes, these new plans are the ones that make us uncomfortable. They are bringing us to “unseen” circumstances. We don’t know what to do at times. They can be so troubling. But God promised to be there with us. That is if we choose to walk with Him. And if we do, these plans become humbling experiences for us in return. Our weak faith becomes awed instead by His power and might. Awed by His love, grace, mercy and faithfulness.

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13-14