A "Motha" of a Day

Ahhhhh. I'm sooo glad the weekend is here. Finally, a little time for some R&R before I have to get back to work. I was so looking forward to this weekend after spending last weekend held captive in my apartment with three essays and a 26 page fieldwork report that was due on Monday, but after the day I had yesterday, I found myself needing this weekend even more.

First period...Kwame (remember him from the previous blog) came to class and sat in his chair with a hood on his head. I went over to him to say good morning and got no response from him. He almost looked comatose. I walked over to him to say good morning and got nothing in return. I moved in a little closer and started asking him if he was alright, but it was like he was in a trance. I backed away and watched him for what seemed like an hour, but it was really only a minute. Then he did this wierd sort of twitch, and I immediately found someone to cover my class while I went for help. When I got back with his guidance counselor, he was being more responsive...he was doing his work. I tried to get him to come into the hall with me, but he wouldn't, and I didn't want to make a scene. So for the next two periods I was keeping a close watch on him hoping he was going to be okay.

Fourth period...I hear Raina in the hall saying something about calling an ambulance, so I ran to the hall and saw a girl doubled over. I went to talk to her in the bathroom to try to find out what was wrong with her, but she wouldn't tell me anything other than she was having bad cramps. I knew she wasn't telling me the truth because she was very relunctant in telling me anything about her so-called "cramps." Later that period she came into the office where I was trying to work a little. I guess her friend had convinced her to talk to someone. She told me that she had a miscarriage earlier that morning. I asked her if she had been to the emergency room, and she had not. I tried to convince her that she needed to go right away when her friend said the same thing happened to her last month and the nurse told her she didn't need to go to the emergency room. Now either she didn't tell the nurse the whole story, or we need a new clinic staff. I ended up calling planned parenthood to ask about the potential risks involved with not seeking medical attention after a miscarriage. They told me that a miscarriage could lead to infertility if a girl/woman did not seek medical attention immediately. This was almost seven hours after theg girl miscarried. I finally convinced her to go to the emergency room, but she didn't go until after school.