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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."
Student goes to nurse's office.\n\nHe is: "Weak, shaky and that he felt numb weakness on his left side"\n\nRN calls mom & not 911...\nhttps://boston.cbslocal.com/2022/05/12/student-stroke-boston-public-schools/\u00a0\u2026\n\u2018Well my professional, my medical evaluation, it doesn\u2019t look like he needs an ambulance somebody should come pick him up' - RN— NYC EMS Watch (@NYC EMS Watch) 1652648883
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."
What a story. The nurse thought it wasn't important enough to call an ambulance but they thought it was urgent enough to call DCF because the mother didn't come to the school fast enough. Good grief.https://atlantablackstar.com/2022/05/17/doesnt-look-like-he-needs-an-ambulance-17-year-old-boston-student-has-stroke-in-class-school-nurse-argues-with-his-mom-to-pick-him-up-instead-of-calling-911/\u00a0\u2026— Shannon (@Shannon) 1652903765
17-Year-Old Boston Student Has Stroke In Class. School Nurse Argues with His Mom to Pick Him Up Instead of Calling 911.\nThe mom knew from the symptoms her son was having a stroke. The nurse called DCFS INSTEAD OF 911!!!https://news.yahoo.com/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— Kathy Mattsson (@Kathy Mattsson) 1652888250
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?"
Why didn't they just call the ambulance, even if it's not needed, better safe than sorry. I'm glad the kid's doing okay but FFS.https://news.yahoo.com/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— Yenni Desroches \ud83d\udc3e\ud83e\udd93 (@Yenni Desroches \ud83d\udc3e\ud83e\udd93) 1652901529
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.'”
This child could've died because the incompetent nurses would rather argue with his mother and call DCFS than call 911 while he was having a stroke. The nurse needs to be fired and license revoked...this is infuriating!!https://news.yahoo.com/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— AntlerQueen\ud83e\udd8c\ud83d\udc51 (@AntlerQueen\ud83e\udd8c\ud83d\udc51) 1652880757
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.”
I've gotten to where I hate these words, because it's just lies:\n\n"In a statement released by the Boston Public Schools, officials wanted to make clear their first concern is \u201cfirst with the health and well-being of this student.\u201d"https://www.yahoo.com/news/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— Liberal Tech Nerd Socialist\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea (@Liberal Tech Nerd Socialist\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea) 1652826382
Alishia said Boston School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius apologized to her personally for the incident.
If it were a white kid, they\u2019d have called 911 a lot sooner.https://flip.it/Hej_xr— Manda Posthumously\ud83e\uddbe\ud83e\udd66\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Manda Posthumously\ud83e\uddbe\ud83e\udd66\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1652842471
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.
ONCE AGAIN African American person BRUSHED OFF & REFUSED MEDICAL ATTENTION \n\u2018Doesn\u2019t Look Like He Needs an Ambulance\u2019: 17-Year-Old Boston Student Has Stroke In Class. School Nurse Argues with His Mom to Pick Him Up Instead of Calling 911.https://news.yahoo.com/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— JDashya (@JDashya) 1652886582
The study claimed:
“Black people simply are not receiving the same quality of health care that their white counterparts receive.”
This is what anti-Black racism and the weaponization of the #FamilyRegulationSystem looks like: A student has a stroke at school. Instead of calling an ambulance when his mom pleaded with the school nurse to seek help, the nurse called child services.https://news.yahoo.com/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— Reimagine Child Safety (@Reimagine Child Safety) 1652911991
I hope the nurse is fired & no longer able to practice. She did everything to kill that child through inaction. The school officials also need to take some accountability for the harm they've done. Not to mention the use of DCF against a disabled parent!https://news.yahoo.com/doesn-t-look-needs-ambulance-181700115.html\u00a0\u2026— Intersections & Woke Mental Wellness (@Intersections & Woke Mental Wellness) 1652874721
She intends to see the nurses handling her son reprimanded and retrained.