Meagan Zielinski's 10-year-old daughter suffered a "severe" injury on the playground at Anacortes' Fidalgo Elementary School last Thursday. Instead of calling 911, school officials called her.
"I didn't understand," said Megan. "It was like being in topsy-turvey world."
Olivia fell off a piece of playground equipment and broke her arm in two.
"It was dangling and deformed," said Megan.
"It was honestly the worst pain I've felt ever, and I mean ever," recounted Olivia.
Olivia ran to the school office. No nurse was on duty. A worker gave her an ice pack and told her to lay down. Meagan was called, but no one called 911.
Olivia sat scared and in pain.
"I just felt alone," said Olivia, wiping away tears. "It's like no one's at your side."
According to Meagan, when she arrived at the school about 15 minutes later, her daughter looked like she was in shock.
School officials reportedly advised the mother to take Olivia to the hospital, but the child was unable to sit up, let alone walk.
At that point, Meagan demanded they call 911.
"Getting help for that person is the number one thing people should do, especially for a 10-year-old kid," said Meagan.
Hospital records show Olivia's pain level was at a "10" and her trauma was listed as "severe."
In a statement to KING 5, Anacortes school administrators said: "Addressing student injuries in a way that supports health and safety is extremely important to us. We follow a standard procedure used by schools across the state to assess the situation and call 911 in specific circumstances such as severe bleeding or loss of consciousness. In less-threatening situations, we administer First Aid, contact the nurse immediately and consult with parents regarding next steps."
Red Cross guidelines, however, advise also calling 911 if there is a deformity, like Olivia's.
"It's just super obvious to me," Meagan said. "It makes me sick to my stomach."
Meagan is now pushing for a 911 policy change to include those Red Cross guidelines, so the next kid who gets hurt doesn't have to suffer like hers did.
"What they have in place didn't work," she said. "This is an opportunity for us to make this better."
