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School Secretary Vent

IcjtIcjt member
in Stay at Home Moms
On Thursdays I babysit for a bible study. I have help and the moms are there too, so in an emergency I can leave. I am paid for this. Yesterday around 10:30, I got a call from the school They said he had, had double vision and seemed tired and not feeling well did I want to come and get him. I stated that I couldn't come and get him right away, but I could come if it was an emergency otherwise I would come in an hour when. I was done and check on him. She said he was laying down and would let me know if anything change. She called me back after 45 min and said he was feeling better and should he go back to class. I said sure if he's feeling better than I wouldn't worry about it. When DH went to pick the kids up, the teacher talked to him. He had double vision, glazed over look, was repeating the word he was reading over and over, and when he came out of it could barely walk. Happened three times, and he has never done this before. She told DH we should have it checked out and she would guess it was a seizure. I am furious that they didn't tell me this on the phone. I emailed the teacher last night, I'm wondering if whoever walked him to the office didn't have the full story maybe the secretary didn't either. But I still think someone should have made sure I understood what was going on. Would you be mad or am I just over reacting?
Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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Re: School Secretary Vent

  • IcjtIcjt member
    I agree, I should have simply went. It is the first time I questioned them and honestly if it had been anyday but Thursday I would have went. The school nurse rotates between four elementaries so she wasn't there. It just seems like they call and say one of the kids are sick, then I get them home and they are fine. From now on I will simply go when they call weather it seems small or not. It is a lesson learned.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • notkateanymorenotkateanymore member
    I would have asked to talk to the nurse, though she's the one who calls anyway at our school. Or I would have emailed the teacher to ask what was going on.
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  • bumpuser8448316bumpuser8448316 member
    I would be upset that I hadn't been given the full story. I also feel like the double vision would be enough for me to go get him- maybe they didn't think you were taking it seriously and made it sound worse after the fact? In any case, I would get him to the doc probably and just have him checked out

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  • IcjtIcjt member
    It is always the secretary that calls. I have never spoken to the nurse, and DD1 is in seventh grade. @cjcouple‌ why does double vision send up such red flags for you? I didn't think anything of it because he has been trying to get glasses since his sister went to the eye doctor a month ago. He kept saying his vision would go blurry when he was reading. Although now I am seeing things that fit together that have been going on with him.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    QueSyrah said:
    I would be upset that I hadn't been given the full story. I also feel like the double vision would be enough for me to go get him- maybe they didn't think you were taking it seriously and made it sound worse after the fact? In any case, I would get him to the doc probably and just have him checked out

    We took him to the ER last night (what our doctors office said to do). His CT scan and blood work were normal so we have to follow up with his doctor, which has to be on Monday because of Good Friday. If it happens again they want us to bring him back so they can compare CT scans.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • jnksmomjnksmom member
    I would be a little upset that they didn't communicate exactly how bad it was but it is possible that the secretaries didn't know also. I would have gone to at least check on him myself if they had told me DS was having double vision.  You said yourself you could leave if it was an emergency and to me that is serious enough that I would have gone. 
    Also, I know you said they share a school nurse but is she that far that she is not able to come to a school for an emergency? We share our school nurse as well and have parent volunteers in our clinic when she is not there. I have called her a couple times for serious things and she is there in 5-10 minutes. 
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    jnksmom said:
    I would be a little upset that they didn't communicate exactly how bad it was but it is possible that the secretaries didn't know also. I would have gone to at least check on him myself if they had told me DS was having double vision.  You said yourself you could leave if it was an emergency and to me that is serious enough that I would have gone. 
    Also, I know you said they share a school nurse but is she that far that she is not able to come to a school for an emergency? We share our school nurse as well and have parent volunteers in our clinic when she is not there. I have called her a couple times for serious things and she is there in 5-10 minutes. 

    I don't know if they called and talked to the nurse or not. The schools are all within ten minutes of each other. I honestly have no clue where the nurse spends her time, or what she does. She never seems to be at the school. And the secretaries takes temps and calls home. In middle school they have the child themselves call home.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • notkateanymorenotkateanymore member
    If my child is in 7th grade and that happened, I would have asked to talk to them? Was this your 7th grader? I'm lost. 

    Basically I would be pissed that I didn't get the whole story, but I also wouldn't have not gone to pick them up based on what they said. 
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    @KateMW‌ No, he is 7 (1st grade) DD1 is in middle school. Sorry for the confusion. Just saying how our system works. I was going to go get him after I was done babysitting. It would have been an hour after they first called, but she called a second time 45 minutes later and said he felt better, and should she send him to class. So I said yes if he is better he can go to class. So I didn't go afterwards based on that. I should have went and I'm just as mad at myself for not going, I'm not meaning to say it's all on them.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • notkateanymorenotkateanymore member
    I get what you're saying. 7 was around when I started asking to speak to DD when they called...since she could explain to me what was going on and I could ask her how she was "really" feeling. :) Sorry everybody got messed up! 
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  • AndrewsgalAndrewsgal member
    Honestly I think this is on you. You made it clear to the secretary it wasn't your top priority, what did you want her to do?
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    Andrewsgal said:
    Honestly I think this is on you. You made it clear to the secretary it wasn't your top priority, what did you want her to do?

    I expect her to give me all the information. Obviously, if she didn't have the whole story she couldn't tell me, but I can only go off what she told me. If she had told me what the teacher told DH, I would have went to him no questions asked. However he was fine when he left, and fine when he came home. I agree I should have still checked on him. And when they figured out I didn't understand the severity of it, couldn't they have impressed it upon me.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    @cjcouple‌ I'm just going to get him next time. :)
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    cjcouple said:
    Icjt said:
    @cjcouple‌ I'm just going to get him next time. :)
    Good idea, although I can see why you had some pause.  I am glad he is being looked at though. Idk what it is about the double vision but that would make me nervous.   

    Thank you. We took it very seriously once we had all the information. I never meant to project the I don't care feeling that Andrewgal thought I did, so now I know that's how it came across to even maybe the secretary I won't make that mistake again. Lesson learned.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • IcjtIcjt member
    auroraloo said:

    The nurse should have called you with those symptoms. It's not the school secretary's job. Don't be mad at the secretary, be mad at the nurse.

    Well that is going to be hard to do. After talking to you guys, I went to our school website and looked through the staff directory. We have no nurse. There are two healthcare parapos, and one medical assistant. Neither are for our specific elementary however. And I'm pretty sure the parapo are teachers aides. And the medical assistant has one of the other elementary schools next to her name.The person I know who works at the school couldn't answer me on who the nurse was when I asked her.
    Mom to I (May 2001), C (Jan. 2004), J (Aug 2006), T (2012)
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  • LoriLee14LoriLee14 member
    That is crazy that there isn't a nurse at every school. At the school that I worked at only the nurse could give medicine (even inhalers). On field trips a certain teacher that was qualified could do it but not while on school grounds.
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  • AndrewsgalAndrewsgal member
    The bump always opens my eyes. Every school in our state has a school nurse. They have to at least be LVNs and then there is an Rzn for like every three schools.
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  • pitterpatter129pitterpatter129 member
    Ours schools don't have a school nurse. They do have a "health assistant", but the requirements are bare...a high school diploma and some CPR/first aide training.  I agree double vision would have had me in the car in a heartbeat, but with the glasses story, I could see how you'd side eye that.  Also, if they decided to send him back to class, apparently he wasn't acting too sick.   :(  
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  • lexusolsenlexusolsen member
    amy052006 said:

    Yeah, plenty of schools in Philadelphia don't have a nurse, at least not every day.  If someone, anyone, calls you and says your kid has double vision, you just go pick them up.  That,to me, isn't a tummy ache or something someone makes up.

    This is true in CA, too. A nurse isn't required and it comes out if the discretionary fund. If a principal wants a nurse s/he has to take the money from somewhere else. Budget cuts and all that.

    Op- I'm sorry your son isn't feeling well and I hope you figure out what is going on quickly. Don't beat yourself up too bad.
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