Mule Creek State Prison resident Walter Deckert got out of bed the morning of April 4, 2023, and wandered into the dayroom. He was naked except for a pair of shoes. 

Concerned witnesses recognized that he needed help. A caregiver — an incarcerated person trained to help with disability accommodations — ushered Deckert into a wheelchair and took him to our facility’s small clinic. When the nurse on duty asked for Deckert’s ID, he handed over his shoe.

The medical staff realized he needed immediate help. Officers hurriedly wheeled him to the prison’s central medical clinic. There, medical staff determined the 72-year-old had suffered a stroke, had congestive heart failure and was suffering from double pneumonia and sepsis.

“I have no recollection of any of this,” Deckert told me recently. “The only memory I have is that our [facility] officer was there the whole time. It’s the only thing that kept me connected to any part of reality.”

This officer recounted that Deckert was in extremely bad condition. “It didn’t look like he was going to make it,” he said. 

Deckert said his vitals had dropped so low they couldn’t even be measured. “I was later told that my heart stopped, and I was clinically dead.” 

In fact, Deckert’s heart stopped functioning twice. After he was resuscitated the first time, medical staff discovered he had a do-not-resuscitate order in his medical file. 

“I was later told that there was a big debate going on regarding the DNR while I was laying there. I don’t know the exact maneuverings, but apparently they got me to scribble a signature rescinding the DNR. 

“Good thing, because the second time my heart quit they would have given up. I can’t help but believe there may have been greater forces at work,” Deckert said.  

During the ordeal, Deckert said he felt a sensation of hovering above his body, watching the whole thing unfold. He said he felt a presence and saw a silhouette. 

“I immediately knew who it was,” Deckert said. “Deceased family members. They were waiting for me, but it wasn’t time yet. There were still things I needed to do.” 

This isn’t Deckert’s first brush with death, or his second. He served in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1971 and experienced some close calls. 

Deckert served as a soldier, pilot and officer in the Navy. He also worked in search and recovery and is a retired math professor. He now serves as a columnist for the Mule Creek prison newspaper. 

Last year, during the stroke episode, Deckert was transported to an outside hospital where doctors removed an 18-inch blood clot from his leg. 

Following surgery and a brief observation stay at the hospital, Deckert was transported to the California Health Care Facility in Stockton. He said Stockton was “hellish,” recalling one particularly hateful nurse who told him, “You’re going to die.”

After two weeks at Stockton, he began to regain his senses and found out he was on deathwatch; he had become convinced that the nurse was right. 

All he could think about afterward was hanging on and getting back to Mule Creek: “It was another prisoner [at Stockton] who told me, ‘You’re not going anywhere until you decide for yourself to take back your health.’” 

He complied. Deckert began exercising, even right there in bed. At first, he had to practice sitting up, and then getting up and moving around. 

Then he would methodically move each body part, stretching and lifting light items such as water bottles. This progressed to physical therapy sessions involving resistance bands. 

He was determined not to let himself die. He didn’t want to give that nurse the satisfaction. 

“I made up my mind that I was going to get better and get back to Mule Creek,” he said. “I was going to see my daughter and granddaughters again.” 

He returned to Mule Creek on May 31, 2023. He has about two years left on an 18-year sentence. 

He still has cognitive issues, has a hard time concentrating and doesn’t always recognize people. But it’s clear he is glad to be back. 

“When I got back here … the outpouring of friendship and love was overwhelming. I didn’t know so many people cared,” he said. “I guess there’s more left to do. When I figure out what that is, I’ll let you know.”