If your child were sick at school, would you rather the school aid them or let them suffer? One little girl’s parents are outraged after her daughter’s school chose the latter.
9-year-old Emma Gonzales began coughing profusely on Monday, while in class at Columbia Elementary in West Jordan, Utah. Unfortunately, the little girl was having an asthma attack, but when she grabbed her inhaler, things didn’t exactly go the way she needed.
On seeing the girl grab for her rescue inhaler, her teacher instructed her to go to the office, where school administrators confiscated the inhaler. It has been reported that the asthma attack had gotten so bad that the child coughed to the point of vomiting. All this while school officials held the device and medication that could rapidly bring her relief.
“When I get into the coughing fit, I kind of hurtle up on the ground, can’t breathe and then I start to kind of feel a little nauseous,” Emma said.
Watching her obvious distress and inability to breathe, school administrators refused to give Emma her inhaler. So, why would the school deny her of medical treatment during a time of distress? According to Fox 13 Now, the school refused to comply because there was no notification of Emma’s prescription on file.
It has been reported that Emma received the prescription for the inhaler after an asthma attack resulted in a trip to the emergency room over the weekend. In most schools, written consent is required where medications are concerned. School administrators must have signed documentation of all prescriptions before administering any medication to a child.
But, regardless of protocol, Emma’s mother feels the school could have done more after witnessing her daughter’s condition. Her obviously irritated mother, Brittney Badger, recently voiced her frustrations during an interview with a local news outlet. “When a child is puking all over themselves and they can’t breathe, you know you kind of have to take action right then and there,” Badger said.
However, district spokeswoman Sandy Riesgraf, argues otherwise. She recently released a statement defending the school’s decision. “There could be all sorts of problems if children were just allowed to take any medication and we didn’t have that verification. Again, this is for the student’s safety,” said Riesgraf.
