The One Where the Daycare Almost Killed My Child.
Sooooooo
They gave my son, who is allergic to wheat, a pancake at daycare today.
Let’s let that marinate for a moment……
I get the call, around 930 that Pookah is not feeling well. He says his stomach is hurting. The school “nurse” also takes the time to point out that he is breathing hard and just doesn’t look right.
Confused, the first thing I ask is: what did he eat?
She asks the 3 year old, who replies: chicken nuggets…..which was lunch the day before.
I tell her to feel his belly. Is it hard? Yes…..take him to the bathroom and call me back.
15 minutes later……..
So, no he didn’t have to go to the bathoom. But now he is red in the face and he isn’t breathing too well.
By this time, CDub is already on his way down to the school from HIS job. Because I called him and told him to go lay eyes on my child.
I hang up, confident that he will get to the bottom of this….until the phone rings again:
“Ms Wiltz, he ate a pancake.”
“Wait..WHAT? He’s allergic to wheat!?!!!!”
“OH SHIT! I mean, what should I do?”
( side note, YOU A NURSE! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ASKING ME WHAT TO DO?)
“Give him the epi pen NOW. I’m on the way”
“But I have to call 911 if I do! I’ll call you back.”
By this time, it had been at least an hour since he had the pancake.
I’m shaking I’m crying, I could barely get my purse out of the my desk. Luckily, my friend saw me and promised to tell my manager where I was going.
I arrived at the daycare just as the ambulance was leaving. Since CDub hadn’t called me and his car was still there, I assumed they didn’t take him to the hospital.
They said he was much better, but CDub noted that in the 5 minutes he had been there, he had already noted that the hives were coming back. And my baby was swollen, red, and just….
Well, off to the ER we went because even after the epi pen is given, you still have to watch a person because after the epi has worn off, the reaction could return. And as we drive, I watched in horror as my child vomited all over the place in the backseat.
And I’m a nurse who doesn’t do vomit. ( go figure)
I managed to drive, keep him from choaking on it, and keep myself from vomiting all at the same damn time.
But oh, it gets better….
We get there, start taking off his clothes, and found this……
On his leg.
WHAT THE HELL?
And Pookah wasn’t saying anything. But he wouldn’t let anyone touch it either. Soooo, they managed to put numbing cream on it and waited.
And then tried to clean out the wound. It took THREE of us to hold him down.
And then…
“He needs stitches”
He cried/screamed and I held his hands and sang to him while they had to add more lidocaine to the cut to numb it up before they could stitch it up.
He got a popsicle at the end of it and all was right in his world.
He had no clothes to come home in and no car seat to ride in since it was still full of vomit, so…….
( He did have a seat belt on all the way home and I drove really slow)
I got him home, gave him some motrin and he passed out.
I make it a point, every morning, to get up early and fix Pookah breakfast. EVERY MORNING. He NEVER eats breakfast in school. In fact, it is a small joke among his teachers that he eats oatmeal EVERY morning and refuses even an offer of fruit because he is full. He always TELLS them that “My Mommy fixed me oatmeal.”
The half story that I got was that he was in another teacher’s room and he got the pancakes there. Why didn’t she know my child was allergic to wheat? It’s EVERYWHERE.
2nd,if like they say, everyone knows, then how did he get the damn pancake? Because supposedly EVERYONE KNOWS!
Except the nurse who holds the epi pen…but I digress….
CDub said that when he got there, the DIRECTOR was saying, well they weren’t wheat pancakes. So clearly, there are some people who just don’t know that wheat is in damn near everything: cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pasta, breads, sauces, meatloafs, some meatballs, etc…….
Do I have to do a damn in-service?????
I’m going to have to make them realize that this is like a peanut allergy: he could die from it.
This is why I pack his damn lunch AND snacks every day. SO THAT THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN!
Oh we are all going to have a looooong talk tomorrow morning.
And there is no way I can be nice about it.
Just wait until tomorrow morning.
Just wait.
and you shouldn’t be nice about it. They need to be informed because your child is not the only child with allergies I’m sure. We pay these people a lot of hard earned money to watch over our kids and for them to let him get into something that could potentially kill him is unacceptable on their watch! He’s not even my kid and I’m hella annoyed.
That’s my point! I pay Good money to them to keep my child safe. They failed today. Big fat F
And you can only fail once….
Oh my God! Pookah, poor baby. One, I want the nurse to know what to do in a crisis and do it. Two, I want the director NOT to be making comments about pancakes. I only want her to be helpful in the situation and find out from her staff how the hell this happened. Three, what happened to that baby’s leg? Four, I’m upset and pissed with the teachers and administrators.
I’m so sorry LaShawn. They better have some damn good answers as to how this could happened and written step by step procedures of what they will do so that this NEVER happens again.
They are supposed to have a big meeting about it, and then call us in for a meeting. But um no. Not waiting that long
I agree with Krissy, they need to have everyone, I mean every employee there at that meeting so they dense behinds can understand the words that are coming out of your mouth, read my lips or whatever it takes for them to understand!!! Allergies? The nurse, I just can’t, her azz might want to stay home. Brings up memories of daycare hell.
I had to look at the picture with the cut again because it startled me so bad. I would probably have the ugliest attitude tomorrow, I’m sorry. Might have to go in swinging. I don’t mean to upset you anymore than you are, but this here, unacceptable.
I am so HOT about that I don’t know if I will be able to keep my composure. Because I WILL be bringing it up. My poor baby is limping right now!!!!
Poor Pookah. My heart is aching for him and you. I can’t believe that damb daycare. And how did he get the cut on his leg? Don’t be nice. This is serious and they need to take it serious. You pay good money for him to go to that daycare. They need to earn it.
evidently, when holding him down to give him the epi pen, someone’s ring scraped his leg. MAJOR SIDE EYE
I’m trying really hard here, but I don’t get how a scrape of a ring could cause a cut requiring stitches. I’ve accidentally scraped probably each of my kids resulting in a nasty scratch. But a gash? I know this was last week and you have more answers and such by now, so I hope you’ll do an update post. On top of that, if it is at all within your ability to move Pookah, I can’t help but suggest you consider it. I know daycare, especially quality, trustworthy daycare, is hard to come by. At the same time, they wound up being neither of those things so they don’t deserve a second chance.
I read this with my jaw dropped. Holy crap. You SHOULDN’T be nice about this. They could have killed him! And what the hell happened to his leg?! Put out your claws, Mama Bear!
I have to get my thoughts together. Because it’s about to go DOWN tomorrow morning!
This was a very unfortunate chain of events. I’m glad Pookah is better. The school has a lot of explaining to do!
This is sickening to me. Just sickening. These are the people you trust to care for your child every day?
There is no way I would be nice. I don’t even know that they would ever see Pookah again if I were you. Having to call an AMBULANCE is not a normal or okay thing.
And what the fuck is that gash on his leg? Unacceptable!
I am so so sorry!! Your poor little man. 🙁
No need to be nice about it at all! Dang, a scary and maddening experience for sure. And where in the world did he get that cut from?!
They got some answerin’ to do.
See….now…..i……but……shit. I just can’t even. SHIT.
🙁 Aww he has a long day..so glad to here he is okay. That daycare should be ashamed of theirself..that is just too much. You have every reason to be on them tomorrow for answers.
I would call a meeting with the whole damn daycare and where the cut come from someone will give me answers and they better start talking fast
That’s a frightening experience. Sorry to hear you had such a bad time. Some people equate wheat with bread and don’t consider pasta or pancakes or other sources. Given the consequences it seems like its going to be necessary to spell it out, even to people who should know.
Did I miss something? Where’s the explanation of that nasty cut on poor little guy’s leg! That would freak me out, too!
No you didn’t! I’m at his school now trying to get answers to that question!
Oh my goodness how freakin scary! That really had to be nerve wrecking for you guys. I’m glad everything turned out ok.And yes I would be up there demanding answers ASAP!
OMG! Poor kid! I don’t understand why the daycare workers weren’t more careful but I’m not surprised.
My son went to daycare for about 3 weeks when he was one. He didn’t nap with the other kids so a worker let him crawl around on the floor IN THE DARK she then proceeded to sit her 250 pound butt in a rocker to rock a smaller baby who was crying and smashed my kid’s finger in the rocker’s gliding mechanism. The director called and said there had been an accident but he was fine. I arrived to find a band aid holding my child’s pinky on. I rushed him to urgent care where he needed three stitches to reattach it. The doctor asked how it happened then told me I needed to report the daycare for child endangerment {a state and nationally accredited center btw}. Such an awful experience!
To top it off the worker who nearly ripped his finger off blamed him for not napping with the other kids.
That was his last day there.
This is terrible. I’m so sorry this happened. <3
Oh my!! I am saddened to even read of this experience — every detail just makes me sad and sick all at once. As a teacher, I am embarrassed. Yes, EVERY school needs to have a firm policy in place for working with kids with allergies. Period.
Even on playdates, I’m hesitant to even pull out basic snacks, for fear that another child with allergies might take a fatal bite.
I hope your meeting is productive (and perhaps a bit uncomfortable for them), for the sake of your child, and ANY child in their care.
See. lawd. If that was a franchise daycare I would be owning it after all was said and done. Somebody’s ass would have to get beat behind this. I’m speechless on this one.
Oh my I know I haven’t been on my blog reading game lately but how on earth did I MISS THIS? I hope you had a very seriously talk with those people because they simply should not be so nonchalant when it comes to pookahs health. That poor baby had a day from hell, stitches and an allergic reaction SHOULD NOT happen — and all in the same day?! GEESH. Hugs to pookah.
I’m appalled and my heard breaks for you and Pookah. I can’t even imagine what I’d do if something like this happened to Nia. She’ll start preschool in the fall and thankfully it’s 3 minutes up the block from our apartment, but even still locally there’s been story after story about kids here getting abused. I can’t understand how these incapable people end up being in positions of care with our precious children.
Don’t know you, don’t know who the daycare is, just came across your blog today. Daycare, and kids with allergies, is not rocket science. Never mind adding that insane cut to the mix. If it were one of my kids, it’d be unforgivable. I wouldn’t even bother meeting with them. I’d never return, and I’d demand all my money paid thus far be refunded in compensation for the trauma to my child. This is your child. Your precious child! He did not die…but he could have…and you will send him back? They’ve proven their idiocy. Find another daycare!!
I am so glad your baby is okay. I would have been raising up some storms. How could they be so freaking careless and not let the other teacher know even though they thought the teacher knew there should have been a reminder.
OMG my heart is pounding and my jaw on the floor…I can’t even imagine what your heart was going through that day. Somebody’s ass need a WASHIN’ behind all this and I can think of 2 the dim nurse and that director.