Gift to Schools Proves to be a Lifesaving Decision Outstanding Story of Care
Blake rushed to the school to find Sarah and Drew surrounded by a paramedic, an EMT, two firefighters and several Garden Lakes staff members caring for her daughter.
When Floyd stepped up to take over and manage the school nurse programs in the Polk County, Floyd County and Rome City schools, everyone involved agreed that it was an opportunity to continue and perhaps improve a good program. And Floyd Corporate Health, alarmed by the unaffordable prices for families to have EpiPens available, agreed that providing the emergency medicine to each school was worth the expense. We do those things because we believe strongly in our mission to make health care accessible to the men, women and children who depend on Floyd to take care of their needs, not knowing that those two decisions would make a lifesaving difference for a member of our own family. Blake, who works in Floyd Physical Therapy & Rehab, experienced firsthand the importance of having a school nurse and an EpiPen available at her daughter’s school. It Was an Ordinary Friday Ashley started her Friday like so many other football Fridays. She drove her older daughter to an early cheerleading practice and grabbed a quick breakfast with her younger daughter, Sarah, at a local restaurant. She dropped her off at Garden Lakes Elementary School before heading to work. Sarah is in the fifth grade, and for her, going to school is as routine as brushing her teeth, but this day turned out to be anything but routine. While sitting in class, Sarah’s face turned bright red and began to swell. She was quickly taken to the office of school nurse Drew Nicholson. Sarah was having trouble breathing. She told Nicholson her heart hurt. Nicholson immediately recognized that Sarah was having an anaphylactic reaction. She reached for one of the two EpiPens in her medicine cabinet and administered the dose of epinephrine. Once Sarah was stable, Nicholson called 911 and Blake.
After a trip to the Emergency Care Center to be checked out, Blake took her daughter home.
Three months later, Sarah is back in class with her own EpiPen within reach, just in case she has a reaction again. Sarah Has No Known Allergies Sarah, who had no known allergies, had experienced a life-threatening reaction to something she came in contact with. After a series of allergy tests and doctor visits, there are no answers as to what caused Sarah’s anaphylaxis.
The other unknown is equally scary to her mom.
Blake said she can’t bring herself to think what may have happened to Sarah had Nicholson not been at school that day or if that EpiPen was not available. Floyd’s decision to develop a School Nurse Program
and to supply schools with emergency medicines was absolutely good for the community, but for Blake and Sarah, it’s much more personal. It’s a decision that may well have saved Sarah’s life.
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