"Does a student have to get seriously hurt.....?

 Does a student have to get seriously hurt...?

When I asked that question I was very serious, although it was somewhat rhetorical as well. However,in the midst of my issues with the school I discovered that a student in Braden's class HAD, in fact been injured. I had noticed this student was not on the bus for a while, but just assumed it might have been due to medical appointments or something like that. When I heard what had happened I was sick...physically sick. I went to visit this student and when I saw him I burst into tears.This beautiful young man looked like he had gone several rounds with a prize fighter. His face was terribly bruised and swollen and he was missing several of his front teeth.


This boy is blind and confined to a wheelchair. He lives in my neighborhood and takes the same bus as Braden.One day after school he was wheeled out to the bus, as usual, when the CEA accompanying him became distracted, possibly assisting another CEA with another student. When she did this she neglected to put the brakes on his wheelchair. His chair rolled down the sidewalk and flipped over. The student fell face first onto the road, breaking his cheekbone, his nose and knocking out several teeth and skinning his knees.     ( the last part is ironic because this boy has never walked or crawled, this was the first time he had EVER had skinned knees)


The injuries were terrible enough, but the way the situation was handled was even worse. Apparently with blood everywhere and an obvious head/facial injury it was NOT felt necessary to call an ambulance for this student. His mom was called to come and get him. There was no concern about possible internal injuries or brain bleeds or anything else that we might normally be concerned about.It was left to the mother to take him to the hospital.

Apparently this level of injury was not considered ambulance worthy-unless of course it was written into the IEP or Nursing Support Plan that under circumstances like these that ambulances should be called. I was beyond stunned by this fact but in my meeting I had to ensure that "when to call an ambulance" was included in Braden's nursing support plan. I think that parents need to be aware of exactly what protocols are in their child's school and district. Ask questions and be specific! DO NOT ASSUME anything!! Realize that what is common sense to you, may not be to everyone.
  
This beautiful boy recovered from his injuries, however he has lost several front teeth. Many children with disabilities/special needs cannot have any type of cosmetic dentistry done due to the danger of implants etc becoming a choking hazard. So this young boy is now permanently maimed...his appearance forever changed. This is all due to a CEA being careless in their duties and putting students at risk.

I looked at this boy and my concerns about Braden and I seriously wondered if somebody had to die before these people would "get it" 

Of note in this situation, as in the others, is that it does not appear that there was any discipline taken against the person(s) responsible for this incident or the ones involving Braden. Of course, the 'powers that be' cannot even offer parents the reassurance that someone has been held accountable for these actions.

As I have continued to dig I find more and more flaws and loopholes in our school districts. It seems that the system is corroded and that if someone doesn't start speaking up that NOTHING will change. I have NO DOUBT that students will be hurt.