Article Contributed on: 5/28/2009 2:06:52 PM
May 6, 2009
Boulder County Court
P.O. Box 4249
Boulder, CO 80306-4249
RE: 08CR1499, 08M15, and case number 07T1485
To whom it may concern:
I would first like to let you know about the circumstances before being arrested. I had just flew in from DIA with my mother from Georgia to organize her move to Colorado. I cannot tell you in writing how stressful that situation was for me. Her cardiologist gave her a death sentence. A week prior to moving her to Colorado, Here cardiologist personally phoned me to come and get her, he said that with proper help in an environment with family, that her life could be extended a bit longer. He would not tell me how much time she had left, because of her diet and other medical complications. With that in mind, I petitioned the court to allow me go to GA and move her back to Colorado. I am the only living relative left to take on this responsibility. Not long before that, my eldest sister, and her son passed away. I was also trying hard dealing with their deaths at this time too.
The night that I returned to GA with my mother after two weeks of extreme stress I explained to my husband that I needed to talk to a girl friend for support. I was then on unsupervised probation at the time and no driving privileges. I had just recently been sentenced with for a DUI, and was trying to get a new lease on life. Everything was going well including no drinking or driving.
My husband took me over to my friend Rachael's to pick her up so that Rachael could drive us to her girlfriend's house for dinner. She didn't have a vehicle at the time but had a valid license. She drove me around every where .My husband and I frequently made this arrangement especially after my previous sentence. I did not want anything to interfere with that. After picking Rachael up we dropped my husband off back home since my mother was now staying with us at our town house. We had just got off the plane two hours earlier. Rachel then drove our truck to another friend of ours for dinner. At one point Rachael became upset about a relationship with her boyfriend and therefore Jennifer asked us to step outside until she put her child to bed. Since it was cold outside and the vehicle was just outside I naturally grabbed the keys, opened the door to the truck, and cranked it up to stay warm while we sat in the parking space without the intention of driving. The intention was to just talk and stay warm for a few minutes. I already had a designated driver sitting next to me. We both knew that we would be back into Jennifer's house within a few minutes.
It wasn't five minutes and a bicycle officer that I personally knew approached my window, and asked me to step out of the car. I questioned him because we weren't doing anything legally wrong that I was aware of, just sitting in a parked vehicle talking about my mother and the last few weeks of stress. He claimed to have smelled alcohol on me but I wasn't drinking. He claimed that my tag was expired which it wasn't. He claimed that I was smoking marijuana which I wasn't and took the tests required to test for these substances. WHY?
We were legally parked, and my windows weren't tented, so I asked him to leave us alone. The officer pulled up my driving record and saw that I had a suspended license along with sitting in the drivers seat, and proceeded to arrest me. I was already so distraught, that soon after that arrest I checked myself into a psychiatric unit for safety reasons. I was in the legal system, and no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get out.
My first altercation was with officer Herrera of the Lafayette Police Department. He came into a small bar in Lafayette, made sexual advances towards and left me a business card, and offered to give me a ride home later that evening, well I didn't. I told him that I was married. At the police station he drilled me about who I was dating, why I did not call him and so on. I asked if we could please stick to conversation regarding why I was there, then he said to me "I can make your life easy with the DA, or I can make it a living hell." At that point I got quite.
I went to court for the cases above on February 2nd, 2009. I had every intention of completing all of the sentence. Recently I went to a place called Rosewood in Arizona for my anorexia nervosa. After being there for only four days, we were informed by the business office that that we no longer had medical coverage. Rosewood turned out to be a money pit for my husband and I. What little financial funds we did have, we were forced it to use it to help me stay a little longer. Because of fighting over my insurance, and the cash that we did not have, I got little from the program. I came home sicker than when I left. I have been fighting for my life since.
I would like nothing else but to pay for and complete the conditions outlined in my court sentence. I have been attending AA since before I left to come home, and I keep attending twice a day, if nothing else, the traditions are laid out in a way to help anyone whom wants to improve their life. The principles are an amazing way to deal with life without a crutch, and alcohol anonymous ( AA is free treatment for me!
Currently my mental nor physical health are in good condition. I have not had a hot BA nor a hot UA since the day I was released from jail for this last offense. Enclosure.
My anorexia is so bad right now that my heart could give out any day for lack proper nutrition and treatment. I am assigned to BA's daily, UA x 2 a week, MADD class that has to be done by June. Alcohol classes x 2 a week, 2 year probation, and a EHM bracelet for 6 months at $91.00 a week, and eating disorder outpatient treatment in addition to various doctor appointments.
The purpose for writing this letter is to let the court and DA's office know that I get $845.00 a month from social security disability and to plead the court to ease some of the stress that is killing me literally. How could someone as sick emotional and physically cope with such a burden? I'm not saying that I did not break the law when I was sitting in the drivers seat, but neither my husband nor I or my friend had any knowledge regarding the technicality of such a law. I have stated to you clearly that my husband and I went to extensive efforts so that I didn't drive that night. Why would we have knowingly broke the law when we were trying so hard not to? We did our best to follow the law to the best of our ability.
My husband has been laid off from a job that he has privileged to have for ten years. Our home that we worked so hard to attain is in foreclosure and we are in the process filling for bankruptcy. I have been working with Mike Sandoval,probation officer at the Boulder Court to help me tackle my obligations within the constraints of my financial, emotional, and physical stress. I made it clear that we were broke, at one point he said that he might be able to help with some costs. I have yet to see that happen. If I had a measure of health I would rather go to jail in a heart beat to complete these obligations, instead of the enormous debilitating emotional, physical, and financial stress that this system has imposed upon me That is why Judge Blum gave me the EHM.. My health is so poor. In addition I found out that I had severe body dysmorphia. While I was in treatment at Rosewood I found out that this disease only occurs in 1 - 2% of the population. Anorexia nervosa is listed among the top two mental diseases that kill. Also while at Rosewood treatment center, I had to have tests done at the local hospital because my blood pressure was so high and wouldn't come down. This went on for over two weeks and I had severe swollen ankles. I finally convinced the on site doctor, Dr. Julliard to let have me take a electrocardiogram. It came back abnormal but I had to complete the program as best I could, still complaining of chest pains.
I went home to have a checkup only to have my primary doctor only to find out that my heart numbers were not normal and she asked me why they didn't admit me to the hospital? I told her that they told me that I was okay. She strongly advised me to to to see a cardiologist and the believes that I have had a heart tack. This news has added to my anxiety, I take diazepam, another name for valium I think that it might be in the opiate family. Its helps a little, but there is nothing that I can do. All of my medications run over $200.00 each month. and greatly and my appointment with a cardiologist is scheduled for the13th of this month for further testing.
I am concerned about wearing a ankle bracelet, because of the number of weekly appointments, and trying to get a transportation for them all. This include alcohol classes and therapy, weekly dietitian, psychiatrist, and psychologist appointments. The only day that can stay home 100% is Sunday I go to church that day.. I am so overwhelmed that my eating disorder is literally killing me. There are days I cannot leave the house because of my dysmorphia. The cost of all of the treatment and sentence is certainly costing me more than its impossible to pay for. I don't know what to do.
I need help from the court, serious help. Right now I am able to attend two alcohol classes at a discounted rate, and I have every intention of finishing. I also need to be re-hospitalized, but can't afford it. I cannot afford daily BA's and U As at all. We are just trying to feed ourselves when I do eat.
Just daily BA's, weekly U As, EHM, probation monitoring, court ordered treatment, and my current court fees it's costing me $1100 a month. This does not include eating disorder treatment, doctor visits, or medications that cost me $200 a month in just co-pays.
At this point I have to humbly ask you to allow me to be back on unsupervised probation if at all possible, so I can have money to try continue to get eating disorder and psychiatric treatment . I am also asking you to disregard my EHM sentence because of the astronomical cost. Please consider sentencing me some place like AA so I can be rehabilitated further. An EHM monitor does not do that, it's just a whole lot of money that I don't come close to having. I have so many medical problems, and have so many appointments, that that is all I have time for.