Primrose offers the best childcare services ever! After having my daughter Sacari, I knew that eventually I would have to go back to work. I struggled with the idea of having to leave my daughter with someone I did not know. Primrose relieved those stresses the day I toured the school. The teachers were so loving and gentle with her, they showed me how everything was done in the classroom and they welcomed her with open arms. Sacari has been here at Primrose for 5 mos. now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I LOVE PRIMROSE!

My Primrose story is not about the great curriculum which has enriched the life if my toddler, or sweet and competent teachers who somehow made it easier to leave my baby every weekday morning, or the friendly administrative staff that make you feel like you are leaving your child with family instead of school. My story is much longer, more serious and personal, but told with an absolute and overwhelming sense of gratitude for the role of the Primrose staff in saving the life of my 15 month-old son Joseph. Each of the following staff member at my Primrose School has my most heartfelt and sincere appreciation, prayers and admiration.As a physical therapist and health care professional, I understand all too well the difference that rapid action on the part of a 1st responder can make, at times being as critical as life and death. This was certainly the case with my son Joseph. Joseph had finally recovered from having pneumonia the week before, and was back at school having finished his last dose of an antibiotic the morning of Wednesday, June 6th. Joseph had finished lunch was preparing for nap time. Mrs. Nora was settling the toddlers on their cots when she noticed Joseph’s face beginning to swell and his breathing becoming labored. She did not hesitate, recognizing the allergic reaction immediately, and scooped him up and bought him to the door of the Toddler Room, calling for Mrs. James and Mrs. Anderson for help. The Toddler room is immediately adjacent to the entrance of the school and the front office. Mrs. James took over care of Joseph on the hallway couch while Mrs. Sloan called 911. Literally within seconds of the onset of symptoms, the paramedics were en route to Primrose. The accurate assessment of the severity of Joseph’s symptoms and quick action first by Mrs. Nora, then by Mrs. James and Mrs. Sloan quite possibly saved Joseph’s life as an allergic reaction rapidly escalated in anaphylaxis. Mrs. Ginn was walking down the hall, returning to the office when she saw Mrs. James caring for Joseph on the couch. As she got closer, she immediately recognized that Joseph was in respiratory distress and called out for Mrs. Sloan to dial 911, and Mrs. Sloan replied, “They are already on the way.” Mrs. Ginn recounted to me that she heard the ambulance pulling up the next minute. In the meantime, Mrs. Sloan also called my husband, Joe Parrish, who was able to make to Primrose before the ambulance left the school. Mrs. Ginn must be incredibly proud of her staff for the manner in which they handled this emergency situation. Afterwards, they estimated HEMSI made it to the school within 3 minutes, surely a record response time but not a minute too soon in Joseph’s case. When the HEMSI arrived, they loaded Joseph on the stretcher but had to work on stabilizing him in the parking lot before loading him into the ambulance as Joseph was no longer breathing effectively. Mrs. James remained with Joseph throughout the entire time, comforting him while the paramedics worked on him. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Flanagan returned from her lunch break and had to park on the street since the entrance was now blocked. Mrs. Flanagan was running from her car and Mrs. James called her over to help, knowing Mrs. Flanagan was Joseph’s first teacher and a very familiar face for him. Mrs. Flanagan was a calming presence which helped settle Joseph and prepare him for transport. Mrs. James and Mrs. Flanagan were fully prepared to ride in the ambulance with Joseph when my husband arrived at the school.When recounting the details of ride to me late that evening, my husband told me at one point during the ride, while in the middle of an intersection, the paramedic called from the back for the driver to pull over. The driver replied, “I have to clear this intersection.” To which the paramedic responded, “No, NOW! We have to intubate him.” Thankfully, the Lord was with Joseph and by the time they stopped, Joseph began breathing slightly better and they did not have to initiate life support. By the time the ambulance made it to Huntsville Hospital’s Women’s and Children’s ED, Joseph was beginning to stabilize and the outstanding staff of nurses and physicians of Huntsville Hospital took over. In the meantime, Mrs. Sloan and Mrs. Ginn had the foresight to copy the food labels of Joseph’s lunch. Mrs. Sloan bought this paperwork and Joseph’s bag to the ER, where she was joined by Mrs. McCrary, the co-owner of Primrose in Madison. Mrs. Sloan and Ms. McCrary spent time with talking with my husband, mother and my sister, Michelle Hunt (whose son also attends Primrose) and visiting with Joseph. I was in Tampa attending the American Physical Therapy Association’s Annual Conference at the time, and desperately trying to get back home after receiving my husband’s call. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to have such a caring, competent and concerned support system for my husband and son through such a difficult time. Joseph spent several hours in the Emergency Department, and was admitted later for an overnight stay in the hospital to monitor his condition. We later consulted an allergist to determine what had caused Joseph's reaction, especially since his lunch consisted of foods he had eaten at home and school many times in the past, and Primrose is very diligent about providing a low-allergen diet. Oddly enough, it was peas that triggered Joseph’s allergic reaction, a food we had given him at home many times despite the fact I despise them. Peas won't be missed at our home, and Primrose has been great about making accommodations for Joseph's allergy and providing substitutes. We also believe it is possible the reaction was escalated by his weakened immune system in combination with the Sulfa-based antibiotic he had taken for the pneumonia.My husband’s account of how close we truly were to losing Joseph is proof that in this case, each second counted. If Mrs. Nora hadn’t recognized Joseph’s symptoms so quickly, and Mrs. James and Mrs. Anderson responded so rapidly, Joseph might not be with us today. In addition, I must thank Mrs. Ginn and Mrs. Flanagan for jumping in so quickly to help, for being a calming influence, and the rest of the Primrose staff for their prayers and well wishes. Prior to June 6th, I was an advocate for my Primrose School as I have loved the warmth and wisdom of the teachers and the great curriculum. As you can imagine, I am now their biggest fan. How can you say enough about the people who helped save your son’s life? If you have to leave your baby with others at any time, it is always easier in an environment where you know your child will be loved and nurtured, safe in the arms of competent and caring people.

Deciding to put my son in daycare was such a hard decision. My husband and I looked at all of the local schools and after we visited Primrose our decision was an easy one. I still cried the first day we left him there, but I knew he was in the best of hands. The teachers are wonderful and I know they love my precious baby so much. I can only hope they realize what a special place they all have in my heart. I have entrusted my most precious possession with them and I know he is truly loved when he is with them. You can tell he enjoys going to school by the way his face lights up when we go in his class room and he sees his teachers. That alone speaks volumes to reinforce that we did in fact make the right decision in where to enroll him. Even though we loved the curriculum offered by Primrose, that wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't happy. Fortunately we get the best of both worlds!