Girl, 13, still hospitalized after eating edible at school, rendering her unconscious for more than 24 hours
A 13-year-old Chicago Lawn eight grader remains hospitalized after ingesting an edible at school Wednesday that left her unconscious for more than 24 hours.
Her mother, Donna Loman, said this is the second similar incident this month at the school and is pushing for accountability.
"Parents are mad and upset," Loman said.
Kyreana Loman, 13, was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after passing out at McKay Elementary School, 6938 S. Washtenaw Ave., her mother told the Chicago Sun-Times. Doctors at Christ told Loman her daughter had THC in her system.
"She finally opened up her eyes yesterday, and today she's doing OK," Loman said on Friday.
Though she's improving, Kyreana still can’t eat, drink or speak and had an anxiety attack early Friday. Doctors haven’t provided a timetable for when Kyreana can go home but said she can be released when she "returns to normal."
Loman was at work at a nursing home up the street from McKay when a school official notified her Kyreana was unconscious. When she arrived, her daughter was still lying on the hallway floor.
"My heart broke," Loman, 30, told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's rough right now."
When Kyreana woke up at the hospital, Loman's first words to her were, "Hello, baby girl, everything is going to be OK."
Though she couldn’t speak, Kyreana burst into tears from her hospital bed as her mother wiped her eyes and comforted her.
"Kyreana is all that I have and I'm all that she's got," Loman said.
In a letter to community members Wednesday, McKay Principal Aundre Hayes wrote that Kyreana, who wasn’t identified in the letter, may have ingested an edible made using "cannabis or other prohibited substances."
A day later, a letter stated that another student consumed edibles at the school and a physical letter was sent home with students following a similar incident Feb. 13. In Thursday's letter, the elementary school announced it intended to provide preventive education on drug and alcohol use to seventh and eighth grade students.
But Loman wants more from officials at McKay. She feels lesson plans are not enough and wants the school to do bag checks, preventing students from bringing consumables like candy that could potentially be laced. Students not willing to comply with preventive guidelines should pivot to e-learning, she added.
"It's gonna constantly keep happening," Loman said.
Loman called the school to check on her daughter after coming across a social media post Feb. 13 about another student ingesting an edible. After picking up Kyreana, the 13-year-old told Loman of the incident and "could hear the sadness in her voice" after finding out the person was someone in her grade level.
"Somebody needs to start doing something," Loman said. "Because it can get into the wrong child and take their life away."
When reached by the Sun-Times, an official at McKay directed questions to Chicago Public Schools, which said a statement was planned to be released sometime Friday.