There wasn’t a school nurse on duty Wednesday at Sabin Elementary School when a 7-year-old boy collapsed and died, but it probably would not have done any good, district officials said.
The first-grader, Tristan Carpenter, had a severe heart problem and fell on pavement on the playground while he was running, said Mark Stevens, spokesman for Denver Public Schools.
“No amount of expertise immediately available would have helped, unfortunately,” Stevens said.
When Tristan was unresponsive after falling, school leaders called the paramedics. It’s unclear whether he died at school or in the ambulance.
Tristan’s parents did not ask for an autopsy, said Michelle Weiss-Samaras, chief deputy of the Denver coroner’s office. The boy’s doctor will certify his death certificate, Weiss-Samaras said.
“He was very, very ill for a long time,” she said.
The full-time nurse at Sabin retired Sept. 30, and a new one is starting Tuesday. The 600-student southwest Denver elementary school has had rotating nurses periodically stop by this month.
The school has three “center” programs for students with special needs. Though Tristan had medical problems, he wasn’t in any of those programs, Stevens said.
Marianne Ramos, a Sabin parent whose son was friends with Tristan, said she was incensed that the school has gone the month of October without a school nurse.
“It seems negligent with this population not to have a school nurse,” Ramos said.
She said her son, Sam, waited for Tristan every day after school to play. When he heard that Tristan had died Wednesday, he said, “But it’s not my Tristan. I need to go wait for my Tristan,” Ramos said.
Edward Rafferty, a neighbor of the Carpenters, called the boy wildly curious, a kid who expended energy riding his bike up and down the driveway.
“He was always running around. They couldn’t hold him down,” Rafferty said. “He was quite a kid.”
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell contributed to this story. Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
