DEAR SCHOOL NURSE

I send my son to school with the confidence he is safe at all times. I have no idea what it feels like to be a teenager in a classroom today. Even less, I can't begin to imagine what it must feel like to have Type 1 Diabetes and go to school daily with so many things happening in your body and mind.

My heart is broken but I am also outraged when I see the careless and cold attitude of many school nurses in schools today. There are so many that are dedicated and take their profession to heart like a calling from heaven. Others, I don't know what made them become nurses because they checked their hearts at the front door the moment they took their first course.

Yes, I am being harsh. You see, my son's life is important and when someone thinks mistreating my child is fine and without consequences, I can't sit back. My child has enough baggage every day for any school nurse to feel permission to behave unprofessionally at any moment.

What can parents do when school nurses are insensitive, uncooperative, rude, and hurtful to our children.
I've learned that loving people can make the difference. I tried to win this nurse but she was too hung up in her rude and angry world and gave me the cold shoulder. So, after one more chance, I reported her. I didn't just go up to the school to file a complaint, I emailed every Diabetes Advocate and Help site I found, and I emailed and contacted the NYS Health Department for the Department of Education. It has to be done. We cannot wait til we get a phone call that our child has been taken to the hospital because a trained nurse was not willing to provide expected services for our child.

We send our children with such abandonment and trust in these medical caretakers. What's going on?
If my child has a seizure in the hallway, alone, what story will you as a nurse make up to cover your behind? Lies. I will be given lies because my son will not be able to defend himself. What excuse do you have to speak so poorly to a child that is already feeling sick? None. You behave that way because there is no hidden camera on you to force you to show humanity and decency.

I am extremely grateful for the way the administrators and supervisors I contacted have taken my son's situation into their hands. They've visited the school, worked on providing needed training and help for the school nurse, and kept constant contact with me. Unfortunately, the school nurse's heart and mind were not changed and today I made the last call. Now she will face the possibility of losing her job or being placed in another school. This was never my desire or intent. But my son needs the best care when I am not there for him. School nurses need a lot more than medical training. They need skills of the heart.

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