My oldest DD (PA/TNA)went to high school this morning to get locker, classroom tour, agenda etc...
We met with the vice principal and talked about her allergies. He suggested that avoiding the cafeteria was best since it only holds 200 student and there are at least 1000 students in the school. Most kids eat in the hallway. (scary!)
No food is allowed in the classrooms.
I asked that the vending machines be changed to safer choc. bars. Right now they have Reeses PB cups, Oh Henry and Wonder Bars plus many more. I requested that they be changed to at least only may contain bars. Why High Schools have to have chunk food is beyond me!
Any other suggestions to keep my not so little baby safe?
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Karalot
KarenT., wow, what does your daughter want to do as far as lunch? Did she have a lunch-room scenario in middle school?
How do you feel about the kids eating in the halls? I guess you can't stop 800 of them from doing it.
Was the principal okay with your request for "safer" chocolate bars in the vending machines? (I also don't understand the need for pop and chocolate bar machines in schools, but anyway).
I can't help you at all. I'd be scared to death.
Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Karen,
Good luck first off. Once your daughter finds a group of friends they can eat together in a safer place. Maybe outside?
(Oh Canada, cold, sorry. Maybe a safer place within the school)
I would battle for safer snacks in the candy machine. That is a small battle you can win with persistence unless the principal is an idiot. I would also not involve the student body, they will probably not notice their peanuts are gone but if you involve them they will balk, they are teenagers after all.
Does your DD have a cell phone? She should have one. Is there reception inside the school?
Let the school know that if she is reacting she will have to leave the area immediately after using her epi pen. And she will have to call 911.
Make sure she knows she needs no permission to save her own life.
Make sure the school understands about "wait and see" Don't let them tell you THEY will decide when to call 911.
Does she carry her epi pen? I imagine she does. Keep that low key to avoid nosy kids or rotten kids from trying to get it away from her.
This is why we did private school. DS was respected and treated like a human, never a problem all 4 years. But expensive!
Good luck
Peg
[This message has been edited by Peg541 (edited September 01, 2004).]
Thanks Cindy and Peg.
The vending machine is pretty well a done deal. The VP did not have any problem changing the choc. bars.
My DD thinks she will still hang out with the same group of kids so they are all very aware of her allergies.
She always has her epi-pen on her (in a purse). She does not have a cell phone but would love you Peg for the suggestion. I told her this summer that we will talk about a cell phone when mom gets one! Only dad has one for work. I honestly never thought about a cell phone for her.
This schools administrative staff are very good. They have Two VP (young men, both new to the school last spring) and the Principal is a woman. I will keep dealing with the Vp I met today since he was very receptive to my ideas.
Thanks again.
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Karalot
Karen,
I insisted my son had a cell phone once he started high school because the campus was odd and I was never sure he could get to a phone. I needed him to be able to call 911 immediately.
As I said many times we gave him permission to override the decision of any adult who tried to get him to wait and see or wanted to not make a fuss with 911.
We felt we understood him and his allergies (and he too understands them very well) much more than any caring teacher could/would so the phone was necessary.
Frankly that is what scares me the most, someone dropping the ball and letting DS die when he can call 911 himself and get help immediately.
You can also do a trial call of 911 to be sure they can find her in school, just arrange it with the local EMS. We did this at college so we KNEW they could find DS if he needed them.
Good luck
peg
I think it's amazing that high schools have vending machines with candy bars. Just think, when most of us were in high school, there were no vending machines with candy or pop. At some point, someone had to suggest acquiring them. I would have loved to be around to hear that conversation: "You know, what our school really needs is more candy."
This is nothing to do with PA, I'm just venting. Schools are such a big part of the whole food/ dieting/ obesity problem in our culture. The funny thing is that every year my kids have a nutrition unit during the school year, but the school doesn't seem to be paying any attention to its own nutrition advice.
Anyway, I'm glad your administrator was agreeable to finding some safer alternatives for the candy machine. I hope your daughter loves high school! Good luck.
Off to the school today to deliver the poster of my DD for the staff room and the expired epi-pens for an inservice the staff are having. The VP was very happy to hear I had real epi-pens for them to pracitce with and wanted them for training my DD teachers.
I will check on the vending machine situation when I am there.
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Karalot
My friend has seizures and there is a posted sign in the pe weight room saying what signs to look for. How about having one in every classroom. I like the idea of doing a trial 911 call. I think it would be stupid for an adult to wait and see and then it's too late.If I were an EMS I would rather come out and not have to transport the paitent rather than a death occuring. I think adults should trust their intuitions and not have to let a serious accident occur. You need to stand up for yourself and be your own advocate. Cellphones are good tools to have.They are lifesavers. YOu can call EMS and then the parent so the parent can be at the scene or go to the hospital. Even if a friend makes the call it's better than having an adult make a decision. Just becuase they have a nurse degree does not mean they will follow through.
They were checking the vending machines has I arrived today. The VP will be dealing with that one!
Still thinking about the cell-phone?
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Karalot
One day down many to go!!!
Yesterday my DD came home from high school with her first "Big Girl" dilemma. She had forgotten to mention to the homeroom teacher that she has never had to share a locker because of her allergies. She is sharing with a friend she has known since they were babies. She wanted me to tell her what to do but I gave the decision back to her and let her make the call. She has decided that it is safe for her to share with this friend.
She loves her classes, loves her teachers and is very excited to be in high school. Only bad thing that happened was the two blisters she got between her toes because she wore her thong flip flops instead of sensible shoes like MOM suggested. Lesson learned!