Epipen pack taken and hidden!

[KSLaru]

I found out today at pickup that a student in DD's class took her epipen pack from the teacher's desk and hid it in the classroom.  I maintained my cool, since the school does so much to make the environment safe for us - but I was furious!  We have never had this happen before.  DD/teachers have been carrying DD's medicine bag for 4 years now without incident.  The teacher went off on the class, called the nurse, who also strongly reprimanded the class.  It was found, but not with the help of the student (no one is fessing up).  DD ended up missing most of her next class since she was retracing her steps in case she forgot it (she didn't).  Plus she had to tell the office it was missing, and it was interpreted as she lost it. 

We have some vocal parents whining loudly about the food restrictions; 504c has had to contact some of them to refresh their memory on the policy.  The kids have seemed understanding before, but now I'm wondering if DD is going to have to deal with bullying - probably by the kids of those parents!  DD is becoming more sensitive about her allergy, and though she seemed strong about it, she made a couple comments that let me know it bothered her.  Sigh. 

I'm composing an email to the teacher, nurse, and 504c.  They are all very supportive, but I want there to be a record of communication about this.  I'm still just amazed.

[momma2boys]

How awful!  And scary! I'm sorry it happened and hope the nurse and teacher stopped any further incidents with their reprimands.

[hedgehog]

Oh, I am so sorry.  I am glad the school is taking it so seriously.  From what I read here, that does not seem all that common.

I know our school takes things like that very seriously.  The other day I was eating my lunch in the teacher's room, and there was a big commotion because a child had thrown a PB granola bar (in unbroken wrapper) at the peanut-free table.  The paras who were on lunch duty, the nurse, and the office were all very upset about this and taking action instead of having their own lunch. 

Hopefully your school will get to the bottom of who did what.  And if not, hopefully it will not happen again.

[twinturbo]

So sorry for you and your DD. Are you considering self carry at this point? I'm wrestling with self carry and location for medicine bags, too. This certainly gives me another scenario to consider that I didn't think of.

[MandCmama]

Wow! I'm really hoping that the other child didn't fully understand the implications of what they did.   Glad DD remained physically safe during all this. 

We have M self carry one pen (2 are too bulky on his little 5 yo frame), have 2 in the class room that travel with him, and 2 in the nurse's office.  I've since learned the school has stock epi as well  We decided on self carry mainly b/c of transport to and from school (in that brief time frame only that epi is available).

In our three years we've been dealing with LTFAs, I've sadly come to expect that we're the ones who need to come up with the back up plan- otherwise there may not be one. Though I do have to say, the school has stepped up quickly when flaws in the plan were identified.

[AllergyMum]

That's terrible that someone did that.
I echo self carrying as a good option.
Big hugs to your dd

[SilverLining]

I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but I'd suggest self-carry as well.  My son has been carrying his since he was four, and a spare is kept in the office.  Also regarding age....maybe the child understood, maybe not....depends on age.

I do know of a previous incident of a student taking the epi.  It was kept in a back-pack hanging in the classroom and all the students in the class knew who it belonged to and what it was.  The mother and teacher felt it best to show to the class to avoid someone just being too curious.  Well, months later, one kid took the epi out of the back-pack and took it out at recess.....and accidentally injected himself in the hand.  In that instance, it wasn't bullying, it was just a kid that does a lot of bad things.  He wasn't the brightest bulb, and he thought it was "some fancy pen" and he wanted it, so he took it.

[KSLaru]

DD essentially does self carry from class to class, and each class has a designated location to put her pack so the teachers and DD can remember to take it.  There is always a spare in the nurse's office.  The kids are 9 and 10, so old enough to know better.  DD isn't the only PA child in the class, but we are the most vocal in requiring enforcement (school is supportive).     So, I have a hard time thinking it wasn't directed at her. 

I don't think she was in danger, it's just the idea.  Kids have always seemed understanding before, but I worry about it as they get older and start to challenge limits more.  It also seems parents are less understanding as the kids are older, too. 

I'll be talking to the nurse in the next day or so; I'm interested in her take as well.

[twinturbo]

You're there, I know you've got it under control, you know the situation fully and best. Having said that when I factor in the circumstances described my level of concern moves up at least one notch because given 1) time constraint of one hour or less 2) unobscured location supervised by adult 3) readily identified personal safety item, this would be a higher risk for a kid in the class to take than an item that was laying the same location for weeks on end where there is ample opportunity to do at a time less likely to get caught.

How and where was the medicine bag retrieved?

[Mfamom]

that is terrible!

I hope the parents whining about the food restrictions don't start in about the medicine being unsecured and a danger to other kids 

I would also look into self carrying.  My ds has self carried since elem. school.  How old is your dd?

[CMdeux]

Along those lines...


I would at least consider the possibility that this was a staffer and not a student.  Has there been any rumbling about keeping meds secured in the nurse's office from the school lately (or in the past)?

I think that you might want to consider not just self-carry, but (as most of us move to when our kids become older) self-WEARING. 

Pretty hard for someone to tamper with or take epipens when they are ON the child's body.  This is what we've always done.  Honestly, I prefer it for a number of reasons. 

[KSLaru]

Way back in kindergarten we had an arrangement that the teacher would carry and pass the pack to the music teacher, etc.  In the last year or two we're transitioning to more responsibility on DD, with her getting the pack and taking it, but handing it to the teacher when she gets there (teacher keeps an eye out to make sure it goes/comes).  This is the first year she changes classes for subjects, so we've just continued along that line.  The nurse and I talked about wearing the pack rather than passing it, but I'm a little nervous about that.  I feel like that makes her even more of a target because it is ever present, visible and on her all the time.  Plus, we wear uniforms, so it makes it even more obvious.  I've thought about getting a purse of some sort instead of her epi bag, but that might be more difficult to keep track of.  I worry about it being left in the bathroom, or something like that.

It happened during lunch, and the teacher is in the classroom during this time; it's a pretty controlled lunch environment.  It was found in a corner of the room behind/under a rolled up poster - which had to be moved out of the way.  This was near the backpacks, so I'm guessing it was picked up as someone went to put something into their backpack.  Definitely no other adult present at the time; I have full confidence in the school staff - any issues have always been addressed quickly.  It was found within an hour.

So, tell me more about experiences with wearing epis at school in mid-late elementary ages.  Do they ever take it off?  How have other kids been about it?  Gym class - DD changes clothes; do they wear it during class?

Sigh.  DD is a worrier and can be a bit obsessive, and as long as the epis are in the room with her, I've felt okay.  I thought if she didn't have to wear it all the time, it would take some of the pressure off her. I was thinking of keeping our handling the same for now, and if problems continued to move to wearing all the time.  Though maybe it is time for a change...

[SilverLining]

When ds was in elementary he wore it all day.  When the climbers were set up, some teachers insisted he take off the belt for safety reasons -- other's didn't. 

Grade ones shared a bathroom in the kindergarten room.  He left it there, and a kindie found it and gave it to the teacher who immediately realized it was my son's and it was immediately returned to him.  The teacher did talk to him about it, and let me know what happened, but he did NOT get in trouble over it.

Grade three (I think) he had to take the belt off for gym and he forgot it in the gym.  I didn't notice he wasn't wearing it until he got home.  I did speak to the teacher about that.  If YOU make him remove it then YOU have to remind him to put it back on.  Problem was solved very easily.  No shoes allowed on the climbers either, so he started putting his belt into his shoe and never forgot it again.

He did get a bit of bullying/teasing.  A group of older girls started calling him "doctor" in a very sarcastic tone because of the medical symbol on his epi-belt.  However, these girls were going to pick on him for one thing or another.  Without the belt, it would have just been something else (and eventually was).  That situation was not handled well by the school...but bullying really wasn't handled well there.  The principal was one of those people who always think girls are innocent and boys are evil. 

[MandCmama]

My DS carries only one, and it's in the belt from one spot allergy.  It's quite small and not noticable under most clothing,

[joanna5]

David started self carrying in first grade.  We use the SPI belt and it is a little bulky with two Epis in it, but not too bad.  He wears it all the time at school, including gym class.  He gives it to me when he has sports, but that's about it.