Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Boston Mom Furious After Son Suffers Stroke In Class And School Nurse Calls Her Instead Of 911

Boston Mom Furious After Son Suffers Stroke In Class And School Nurse Calls Her Instead Of 911
CBS Boston/YouTube

A mother is furious after school officials contacted her instead of 911 when her teenage son suffered a stroke at school.

D’Andre Hicks, a junior at the Henderson Inclusion (Upper School) in Dorchester, Massachusetts, told the school nurse he felt “weak,” “shaky” and “numb."


According to Bayer, signs someone is having a stroke include numbness or weakness on one side of the body and dizziness.

Health care professionals advise "Whether or not you’re sure that you or someone else is having a stroke, seek medical help immediately."

But instead of recognizing warning signs suggesting the teen was suffering from a stroke, the school nurse contacted his mother, Alishia Hicks, to pick him up from school.

The problem was that Alishia was sick and not mobile since she is confined to a wheelchair.

She said:

“He came to the nurse’s office to report that he was feeling weak, shaky and that he felt numb weakness on his left side."

You can watch a news report, here:

Mother demands answers after school waited to call 911 after son had strokeyoutu.be


Alishia recalled telling the nurse:

“He’s going to die if he’s stroking, they’re taking too long to dial 911.”

During their 30 to 45-minute back and forth over the phone, the nurse allegedly told her:

“Well, my professional, my medical evaluation, it doesn’t look like he needs an ambulance, somebody should come pick him up.”

First responders eventually arrived after the school contacted the Department of Children and Families (DCF) when Alishia didn't come to the school fast enough.

Alishia recalled hearing another person in the background during the phone call instructing the nurse on the phone to "call DCF."


The teen eventually received the help he needed when he was taken to Tufts Medical Center–where he was diagnosed with having an acute ischemic stroke.

"Even I know the signs of a stroke," said Alishia.

"Why didn't the nurse?"

Alishia told Boston 25 that her family has a history of strokes and that she suffered three strokes in her life.

“Listen there’s a small vessel problem on my mother’s side of the family that causes a stroke easily if there’s any blockage in it. [It] is so important to get him to the hospital right away because he could die," she said.

After doctors stopped D'Andre's stroke with medication, he stayed at the hospital for two days.

He has since been home and hasn't been back to school.

“He’s not happy about the school right now, he doesn’t feel safe there,” said Alishia.

“His words when he was in the hospital, he said 'mom, I can’t believe they didn’t believe me.'”

A district spokesperson responded to the incident, saying:

“Our concern is first with the health and well-being of this student. We are glad to hear he is recovering well."
"This serious incident is being reviewed by appropriate BPS staff and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on this specific matter.”

Alishia said Boston School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius apologized to her personally for the incident.

Based on the American Bar Association's research about “Implicit Bias and Racial Disparities in Health Care," Alishia believes race was a factor in the nurses' negligence.

The study claimed:

“Black people simply are not receiving the same quality of health care that their white counterparts receive.”


She intends to see the nurses handling her son reprimanded and retrained.

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Blasted For Announcing New Additions To The White House Lawn As Global Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump was criticized after announcing that two new flagpoles would be added to the North and South Lawns of the White House—not the greatest look amid heightened global unease as tensions between Israel and Iran ramp up.

According to the Associated Press, Trump watched as a crane installed the newest flagpole on the South Lawn, remarking, “It’s such a beautiful pole.” He later returned to the site to salute as the American flag was raised for the first time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump from CNN supercut
CNN

Trump Mocked For 'Two Weeks' Iran Deadline With Supercut Of All His 'Two Weeks' Promises

President Donald Trump has a history of promising to resolve problems within "two weeks," and a new viral supercut mocks him for all the times he's said as much—including right now with tensions in the Middle East higher than ever.

Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to involve U.S. forces directly in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing what he called a “substantial chance” for renewed nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz; Tucker Carlson
The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson And Ted Cruz Get Into Shouting Match Over Iran In Bonkers Interview Clip

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz—a harsh Donald Trump critic-turned-MAGA minion—sat down with fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for the conservative influencer's self-produced online content,The Tucker Carlson Show, for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On Tuesday, Carlson shared a 1.5-minute clip revealing that things got contentious when the pair touched on the Trump administration's escalating tensions with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less