Like the majority of those incarcerated in California prisons, Daniel had no health insurance upon leaving San Quentin. After one year in prison, his SSI was cut off after supporting him for nine years following his kidney transplant. He was given thirty days medication when he left prison.
Daniel was rejected after re-applying for SSI and faced an awful reality: would he have to go back to prison just to get his medications? Or would he stay out and jeopardize his new kidney?
Without medical advice, Daniel started taking his medication every other day to make it last, but soon he started having concerning symptoms. He was distraught and insulted by a system that made him feel as if he “didn’t exist anymore” and that his life “didn’t even matter.”
Daniel did end up back at San Quentin and he is about to be paroled again. He’s left with the same worries about his health and his future. No one should have to decide between incarceration and organ failure.
