Bizarre incident at school today

[hk]

DD had a strange incident/reaction at school today.  A boy was sitting next to her eating eggs.  While talking to her, he accidentally spit some egg on her face.  It landed in several spots on her face, all of which promptly developed a hive and started itching like crazy.  3 parent volunteers in the lunchroom blew her off.  She returned to class and had to ask the teacher several times before she would allow her to go to the office.  The office gave her two Benadryl and waited quite awhile before calling me.  She walked out of school looking very woozy from the Benadryl, but otherwise seems okay.

Glad we only have 46 days left with this teacher.

Very bummed that the egg allergy is obviously not going away anytime soon (and probably ever since her numbers have been quadrupling for the past few years).  Ugh.

[maeve]

hk,
I'm glad your DD is OK.  I hope she's feeling OK and doesn't get anxious because this happened.  It is an odd incident but I can see how it could happen (such as sneezing when you're mouth is full). 

You've had such a tough time with your school.  I hope you give them a piece of your mind over what happened.  Does your daughter have a 504?  If she does, go through the incident and point out that at every point safety procedures designed to protect her failed.

If your DD has a 504, does it stipulate that she cannot sit next to a child with her allergens.  Your DD is very sensitive to egg.  My DD had a reaction to unseen egg protein (left over from a cooking lesson earlier in the day before she arrived at the school) that was kind of more than a contact reaction but not quite systemic and certainly not anaphylactic.  Well, after that reaction and the teacher putting DD at the time out table on days egg was on the lunch menu, we had it put in DD's 504 she was to sit with her class with a buffer between her and fellow students eating hot lunch on days when egg was on the menu.  The school does not serve nut products on the lunch menu, so the kids eating hot lunch were a buffer between DD and the kids bringing lunch from home, who had no restrictions.  That set up worked well for us. 

DD is now in middle school and has more freedom to sit where she'd like but she tends to sit with her BFFs, one of whom has the same allergies and the other who is aware (and has wonderful parents who take care with DD's allergies).

[yelloww]

OMG! That's awful!

Does your ds feel like she can leave class without being in trouble to find the nurse or the principal? If not, please work on that.

I'd cc everyone on a strongly worded email. So many things could have gone very wrong while she sought help.

[Macabre]

Yikes. After an incident in elem school, our 504 specifically states DS' efforts at self advocacy will be recognized and affirmed. Very helpful language.

I'm glad your dd is okay!!

[SilverLining]

Sorry to hear this happened to her.  Sounds like more then just the teacher is a problem.  Lunchroom and office staff need to learn to treat her appropriately too.

[ajasfolks2]

Who at school is supposed to coordinate the education and training of staff so far as reactions and your child's 504 and emergency action plan?  That person needs to re-train, even at this late date in the year.  School nurse would be this person in schools that have a school nurse . . . (cannot recall off top of my head if you have school nurse, but I'm guessing no?).

Yup to the (yellow's sugg) strongly worded email and I'd include in it something to the effect of Mac's verbiage as to child's self-advocacy too . . .

Geez.   

[YouKnowWho]

Sitting in a meeting last week, I told the powers that be that if he is ever "slimed" (our code word for accidentally contaminated at lunch via contact or crumbs landing in his meal), he is to walk out of the lunchroom immediately and straight to the nurses office (conveniently across the hall from the lunchroom).  I would fight his battle later.  Same goes for a reaction in class that is being ignored.  Walk straight to the nurses office if teacher won't let you go.

BTDT unfortunately.

[CMdeux]

One of the problems with that approach, however, is that the child undergoing an escalating reaction should not be "walking" anywhere, and DEFINITELY not unescorted.

On the other hand, at some point it becomes the lesser of evils.   

That point, however, is a set of conditions where fatalities become pretty realistic outcomes.  I'd state that, because ignoring a child's efforts at self-advocacy re: recognition and treatment of reactions is a BIG no-no.