Thoughts from a School Nurse You might feel a little stick!

It's the last day of school and all is quiet in the Nurse's Office. Now, anyway. This morning was so unusual and a little scary. Fifth grade graduation and the awards ceremony started at 9am, so we had a crowd of people coming in with their kids along with parents of younger children that were walking them to class.

During this time, my API walks into my office assisting a parent and tells me that this person has started a new medication and was feeling dizzy. The parent couldn't even sit up on the exam bed and was having a hard time talking. I asked the parent to lay down and I started getting vital signs. All normal. The parent isn't staying awake, so I began asking questions, all the while shaking and patting this person's leg. What kind of medicine did you take? Slurred, incomprehesible response. Is it something for pain? Eyes roll back and slurred response.. "I'm not in any pain". No kidding. I find out that a parent of the parent is on the way (child's grandparent). How did you get here this morning? "I drove". Okay... time for action. By this time, the school social worker is in my office and is speaking with the parent of the parent, who has just arrived. This parent informs us that this person has had a problem for quite some time with pain medications and went to the methadone clinic this morning before coming to school. Oh.. and took the child also. So I call EMS and explain to dispatch we have a parent that is possibly (yeah, right) high (as a kite) on meth. Vitals are normal, in and out of consciouceness, disoriented. Transport is on the way. I call DSS. I have an emergency situation of a parent that is being transported to the hospital due to possible drug use, student is here on campus. The social worker finishes the conversation with DSS, as the principal and the assistant principal are in with the parent and are concerned about the respiratory condition. Parent is laying with eyes closed, intermittently snoring and having sporadic muscle movements (twitching). Respirations are depressed, with an oxygen level of 90 and falling. I wake parent up by shaking and patting the leg and start talking, asking questions to keep parent awake and breathing normally. Where are you? "At school." What year is it? "2000." Who is president? Confused look... "I was going to say George Washington." Police officers arrive followed by EMS. Vitals are still normal. Parent states she drove to school with child. Police take statements and parent's driver's licence and say they will charge parent with DWI. EMS keep parent awake long enough to be put on the stretcher and they take parent away. Parent's parent is still talking with social worker for at least half an hour, trying to make plans for child and for rehab arrangements. Police leave and follow EMS to the hospital where parent will be placed under arrest. Parent's parent is finally composed enough to leave to start necessary paperwork. I clean my office and have our custodial staff (who is THE BEST) clean the exam bed. The office staff maintain normal operations throughout the situation because they are awesome and professional. I document events as they occured and file paperwork. Is it time to go home yet???