For many students, finding an excuse to head over to the nurse’s office is the perfect way to get out of class. Due to this kind of behavior, nurse’s are able to tell the difference between someone who really is sick and someone who’s faking it. When one young boy came into the nurse’s office asking to go home, she refused to let him leave. Instead, she did something that would end up saving his life…
20. School Nurse
Carrie Stephenson is a school nurse who works at West Bernis Middle School. One morning, she went into work expecting it to be another typical day of dealing with stomach aches and colds. However, she had no idea what was waiting for her that day.
19. Feeling Sick
That day, 13-year-old Isaiah Griffin was feeling really sick. The 7th grader wasn’t feeling well and was sent to the nurse’s office. At first, Stephenson assumed that the young man had the flu, however, she soon realized that wasn’t the case.
18. The Flu
Isaiah’s teacher’s assumed that he had just caught the flu that had been going around school. However, when he got to the nurse’s office, Stephenson noticed that there was something way worse happening. In fact, she could see that it was a life-threatening situation.
17. Scary Situation
Nurse Stephenson began to notice that Isaiah’s eyes were rolling around. The young man was also vomiting and she immediately noticed that the vomit didn’t look normal. Isaiah continued to drift in and out of consciousness and the nurse knew that she couldn’t just send him home.
16. Serious Situation
“I honestly thought he was fixin’ to die,” Stephenson explained during an interview. She knew that something was wrong and she also knew that she couldn’t just send this young boy home. Instead she called the school staff and told him to call up an ambulance.
15. Waiting
The school staff immediately called an ambulance upon Stephenson’s request. As they waited for the ambulance to come, Stephenson stood by Isaiah’s side the entire time. She continued to monitor his heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing.
14. Arrival
Finally the ambulance had arrived and they quickly rushed Isaiah over to the hospital. Isaiah was admitted into the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital where they began to run some tests on him. That’s when they found out the shocking truth about his condition.
13. The Diagnosis
It seems that Isaiah hadn’t come down with the flu at all. The 7th grader actually had a blood clot an inch from his brain stem. The symptoms that Isaiah was exhibiting were those of a stroke! Nurse Stephenson had luckily caught it in time.
12. Worried Mother
Deborah Griffin, Isaiah’s mother, was worried sick when she got the phone call from the school that day. As soon as they told her that her son was being brought to the hospital she hopped into her car and drove over. “I was driving, crying, and praying. It was the longest drive. I thought I would never get there,” she explained.
11. 50 Percent
When Deborah finally arrived at the hospital, she was told some awful news. The doctors at the hospital explained to Deborah that Isaiah only had a 50% chance of survival. Deborah was absolutely devastated when she heard the news and began to break down in tears.
10. Phone Call
It was at that moment that Deborah received a call from Nurse Stephenson. Stephenson had called to see how Isaiah was doing and she could see how distraught his mother was. She immediately asked Deborah if they could pray on the phone together for Isaiah.
9. Quick Thinking
“[If not] for her quick thinking and for what she did and stuff, Isaiah would not have been here.. I could have been planning a funeral. He could have not seen his 14th birthday,” Deborah said. Finally, Isaiah’s surgery was over and the doctors came over to tell Deborah the news.
8. The News
The doctors came out to Deborah and told her the good news, Isaiah’s surgery had been a success. Deborah was ecstatic and she was so happy that her son was going to live to see another day. Then she decided to give Stephenson a call to also let her know the good news.
7. Greatest Gift
“This is going to be one of the best Christmases. Ms. Carrie has given me a gift,” Deborah exclaimed. “It’s just the most precious gift she could have given me.” Stephenson then decided to head to the hospital with her mother to visit Isaiah and to see how he was doing.
6. Visiting Isaiah
Stephenson and her mother Betty Roe, who is also a nurse practitioner, both went to the hospital to see how Isaiah was recovering. As she came into the room, Stephenson asked Isaiah if he remembered her. The young boy answered in the most amazing way…
5. Isaiah’s Response
“You’re the lady that helped me,” he said. “You grabbed my cheeks and told me I was going to be OK.” Stephenson was blown away by Isaiah’s response however, she was just happy that she could help. To her, all she was doing was her job.
4. Grace of God
“To me it was just the grace of God showing through. God was all over that,” she said. It was also lucky that Stephenson was there that day because some days she visits Denmark Elementary. Unfortunately, not every school has a full-time nurse on staff to watch over the kids.
3. Full-Time Nurse
Annette Wilson, coordinated school health administrator for JMCSS, has stated that not every school has the budget to hire a full-time nurse. Wilson hopes that with more awareness, schools will get better budgets to have a nurse on staff for situations like these. “When you’re a health care provider, you have to be prepared for those emergencies,” Wilson said.
2. Bringing Awareness
“Hopefully, this will bring awareness as to why they need a nurse in every building,” Stephenson said. Having a nurse in every school is an important way to keep the students safe. After all, who knows what would have happened had Stephenson not been in the building that day?
1. Saving A Life
Thanks to Stephenson’s quick thinking and training, she was able to save the life of Isaiah. Deborah and Isaiah are both eternally grateful to her and are so happy that the young man was given a second chance at life. Without her help, the young boy wouldn’t have made it to see his 14th birthday.