Tammy “Sunny” Sytch’s prison health problems started when her leg swelled up sometime after heading to Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida, a female-only facility with a capacity of about 1,000. Sunny said that staff at the prison ignored her for weeks regarding her leg, which looked like “somebody put a bicycle tire pump on it and just inflated it twice the size,” per TMZ Sports. She stated that she could “barely walk,” and that medical tests revealed that she’d suffered a blood clot that required taking blood thinners.
WebMD lists numerous factors that can lead to the development of blood clots, such as obesity, sitting too long, smoking, high cholesterol, etc. Blood clots can be painful, flesh can change colors, and blood clots can be fatal if a piece of the clot breaks off and travels to the brain. As far as we know Sunny hasn’t experienced anything so severe, but the risk is still there. To make matters more complicated, Sunny told TMZ that her husband Chris Candido died of a blood clot in 2005, which has made things that much harder for her.
While we don’t know details about the medical care at Lowell Correctional Institution, the Florida Department of Corrections website says that it provides “comprehensive” medical, dental, and mental health-related care in its facilities. It partners with correctional healthcare specialists Centurion to do so, who provide prison healthcare in 15 states.
