A disturbing incident involving a 13-year-old girl losing consciousness for over 24 hours due to ingesting an edible at Francis M. McKay Elementary School on Chicago’s Southwest Side has raised serious concerns among parents and educators, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The edible is thought to have contained THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and this incident marks the second such occurrence at the institution this month.
Donna Loman, the mother of the student, expressed her alarm and frustration to the Sun-Times, describing the moment she saw her daughter Kyreana unconscious on the school floor, saying, "My heart broke," and later at the hospital assured her, "Hello, baby girl, everything is going to be OK." Unfortunately, the student's condition, while no longer life-threatening, remained serious as she had difficulty eating, drinking, or speaking and suffered from an anxiety attack shortly after regaining consciousness. The girl's recovery timeline remains unclear, with her mother emphasizing Kyreana is all she has, and she’s all that Kyreana’s got.
Adding to parental concerns, CBS News Chicago has cited that several letters have been sent to parents of McKay Elementary within weeks of each other, each detailing separate incidents of students consuming edibles on campus and requiring medical attention. Donna Loman had warned her daughter after the first incident, saying, "Hey Kyreana, don't take nothing from nobody — no candy, no food, no juice, no chips, no nothing'," yet the troubling pattern continued.
Principal Aundre Hayes of McKay Elementary communicated to parents intentions to initiate preventive education on drug and alcohol use for seventh and eighth-grade students, as well as to offer additional support, meanwhile Donna Loman is advocating for school policy changes that might include bag checks or a switch to e-learning for students not adhering to safety guidelines, the mother believes "It’s gonna constantly keep happening." Donna remains shaken, reflecting after the incident, "Because it can get into the wrong child and take their life away," she told the Sun-Times.
