Posted on 10/05/2005 1:15:39 PM PDT by linkinpunk
Teacher Mistakes Boy's Insulin Pump For Phone, Rips It Out
Boy Is Diabetic
POSTED: 11:16 am EDT October 5, 2005
CLERMONT, Fla. -- School officials in Lake County, Fla., said a substitute teacher pulled out a student's insulin pump after mistaking it for a cell phone.
Cliffton Hassam told East Ridge High School officials that his insulin pump began beeping in class Friday. But before he could turn it off, Hassam said substitute teacher Richard Maline ripped it from his leg.
Hassam is diabetic. The insulin pump regulates his blood sugar level.
Lake County School District officials said Maline pulled the pump because he thought the beeping came from a cell phone. They said Maline realized his mistake after he grabbed the pump.
In the written statement Hassam gave to school officials Tuesday, he said the pump fell to the floor and the tube came out of his leg. The high school junior said his blood sugar levels did not return to normal until early this week.
School district officials said Maline has been removed from the pool of substitute teachers.
It was a substitute, not a teacher.
In other news a school in Arizona is keeping a diabetic boy from keeping his testing kit with him under the No Tolerance rule. They say he can keep it in the nurse's office. But if he ever had a problem he would not be able to get it in time.
Okay the teacher is not a Rocket Scientist. But, it's not the horror they are making it out to be. The insulin pump is connected to a tiny needle that just goes below the skin into the fatty tissue just below. Takes all of 30 seconds to clean the skin and insert another little needle. You would think the kid had a kidney removed.
God lord, that is so stupid of them!
Got that right!
In CPR class, which the police, teachers and others like them must take, the symptoms of a diabetic crisis are discussed. One should always take into account the possiblity that the "drunk" might be a diabetic. Don't diabetics wear bracelets for i.d.?
Bet that teacher is sorry but... not as sorry as he's gonna be.
My daughter was just diagnosed with diabetes one month. I would be terribly upset that the teacher "reacted" instead of calmly asking what the beeping noise was! He could have gone into a diabetic coma or worse! I have already ordered a medic alert necklace that will be easily recognizable and hope my daughter won't have to experience such an incident.
Some diabetics wear bracelets, but not all I know do.
And, as a thought, many people are a bit in denial about the severity or even existance of their diabetes. They are often non-compliant with their meds and diet. Lastly, there are those who don't even know they are diabetic.
I've seen OOC diabetics admitted with 800+ blood glucose levels swearing they weren't diabetic. Batty as bedbugs and not knowing who I was 3 days later when their sugars leveled off.
I'd say a big fat lawsuit ought to raise their consciousness. I'm not a diabetic, but I donate blood a lot. And for some reason I have this paranoia about that cannula being ripped out of my arm. If it ever was, I don't know that I would ever be able to donate again, at least not without major major counseling.
If I had type I diabetes, that would be a huge problem. Should be worth a lot of money.
However, he may not have been allowed to bring additional needles with him... most pumps require new needles for each new insertion.
it is not SOP to re-insert a used needle into the body for pumps (not to mention IVs, shots, etc)!
Also - his insulin could have leaked out if the pump was not turned off when the needle was removed!
Are you allowed to lay hands on the students below the level of the BELT? What kind of perv are you?
Actually that depends on the type of diabetes... People with diabetes type 1 - mostly compliant... Diabetes type 2 - most likely not compliant. Most kids - are type 1 and are compliant as can be...
WooHoo, Cliffton's parents are rich!
Not if you aren't already diagnosed as diabetic.
What? He couldn't ask a simple question of the boy; is that a cell phone? The boy could than have told the teachers what it was. If the teacher didn't believe him, he could have sent the boy to the Principal's office, NOT ripped the dang thing out of the kid's leg!
Agreed,
We were talking about drunk drivers etc...(which are usually adults) and yes, most of the non-compliance I see is in the Type II's.
Even the child Type II's we're seeing now are not as compliant as we would like.
Maybe the police were hoping to confiscate their vehicles for sale at auction - increas the police revenue.
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