An Abbotsford mother wants answers from her son’s school about why her 11-year-old was sent home alone with what appeared to be stroke-like symptoms.
Amanda Broad says her son Caleb told his teacher at Abbotsford Middle School that his left arm and face were tingling just before the end of the school day on Monday.
She says the teacher remarked that Caleb was slurring and the left side of his face looked frozen.
When the teacher asked Caleb if he felt okay, the 11-year-old said yes. His teacher told him to go home and tell his mother.
“My son did not make it home,” Broad said. “He ended up calling me dazed, confused, very scared, shaken up and just like, ‘Mom I’m lost. I don’t know how I got here. I thought I was walking straight. What’s happening with me? What’s wrong with me?'”
Broad eventually found him wandering quite a distance from school.
“Caleb was extremely pale,” she said. “His eyes were dilated. He didn’t have any memory of how he got to where he was, and he just kept saying, ‘Mom, I’m scared, I’m scared.'”
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Caleb was rushed to Abbotsford Hospital, then transferred to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. While it initially appeared he had suffered a stroke, Caleb has since been diagnosed with a hemiplegic migraine, which is rare in children.
Broad is relieved to have a diagnosis, but now she wants to know why the school didn’t call her.
“The protocol for a child in any kind of medical distress – even the smallest flu-like symptoms – a parent should be called and they are not allowed to leave the school,” she said.
“I think I deserved the decency and the respect for a phone call.”
Broad insists that she doesn’t want the teacher to suffer any repercussions from the incident. Instead, she wants to ensure that staff follow the proper protocols.
“You don’t want the teacher in trouble because this could have happened to anybody. We just want to make sure that the awareness is out there.”
In a statement to Global News, the Abbotsford School District said it is “actively working with our school administration to examine the situation to ensure that district policies for managing student emergencies and health incidents are properly followed.”
Broad says Caleb is recovering and can’t wait to return to the classroom.
“He wants to go back to school,” Broad said. “He loves school.”
— With files from Jennifer Palma