Excuse Me?

Warning! Camp Flashback!

Today I got an e-mail from the people who run the people who run camp (no that was not a typo). Seems a mother e-mailed them complaining that I didn't take her son's illness seriously enough, didn't contact her, threatened her child, called him a baby and (drum roll please) ruined their vacation. The e-mail was clearly worded to indicate that she thought I ought to be fired. Personally I would love to post the piece of trash and explain what a bovine, spoiled brat she and her child are in excruciating detail, but my rule is I never post other people's e-mails on my blog. So instead, let me tell you what it said!

She explained that her child came to me on the last Thursday of the last week of June (she waited over a month to complain about something she feels I should be fired for????) and that he told me he had strep, that his sister had just had strep and having had it before he knew it was strep. Apparently I told him he was just dehydrated, called him a homesick baby and threatened to drill needles into his arm full of IV fluids if he came back to see me, because he was simply dehydrated. This meant that he being terrified of me, didn't come back and when his parents came to get him Friday afternoon (early, I might add) he was now very sick, and they had to scramble for Urgent Care, find an all night pharmacy (much stress and misery on their part is explained and documented here) and then said boy was horribly sick during the first two days of vacation and ruined it for everyone. This is all the "camp nurse's fault." Besides, strep is not something you play around with (No? I play pong with it daily!) and I should at least be reprimanded. I should have taken her child's whining and complaining seriously, because she knows he would never be homesick or snivelling, much less dehydrated!

Yes, the air is thin here up on my high horse.

I could scream.

Thankfully this letter was sent to the people who run the BSA council and they apologized on camp's behalf for any dissatisfaction and are going to go over the case so I can better serve people next summer. If it had been sent to me I would have told the woman to enroll her son in Liar's Anonymous and get herself some therapy and a reality check.

Any child who comes into my office complaining of Strep symptoms, who tells me about family with strep or who thinks they have strep is examined for strep (throat peak, gland check and fever check). Then I have them come back if there are no signs, but symptoms persist. I have been known to show hesitant drinkers my hypodermic needle, but I have never threatened anyone with an IV or told them not to come back (counterproductive for several reasons smart people can think of). Often an easy way to contract an illness is to be dehydrated, and having no recollection of this kid or this case, I imagine the kid reeked of ketosis which is how I know they are dehydrated. (Yes, I smell children to diagnose, it works!) I have never ever even called a camper a baby, cry baby or moron to their face and I never even use the terms to their scout leaders, though the scout leader often use the term for the child to me.

Then there is the timing. If it happened Thursday night, and they got there Friday afternoon, how could the outcome have been much different? Even if they came up Thursday night, still would have been an Urgent Care, midnight pharmacy run (and don't most Urgent Care's and Emergency rooms have some pharmacy ability for just this reason?) I figure either the scoutmaster said this stuff to the kid and the kid is blaming me, or the parents were mad at the kid for "ruining" their vacation and he therefore passed the buck or mom is an idiot and the apple didn't fall far from the tree! (How is that for Christian love and understanding!)

The thing about this is I hate people who lie, pass the buck and complain in such a way that they risk nothing and are just being mean and spiteful. This woman said she wanted to be constructive. As a teacher (And an English one at that) there was nothing in her letter the least bit helpful or constructive. It was just unnecessary. I hope it made her feel better.

In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter anyway, the camp people essentially backed me, though smoothing over ruffled feathers, and it's August now, so who cares! But grrrrrr!

That still just frosts my flakes!