Imagine spending months in extreme, shooting physical pain.
A mother in St. John said that's the life of her 11-year-old boy.
It's all because of a bully at his middle school. She said after an incident in September, officials at Ritenour Middle School promised her an investigation.
Tired of waiting, she called 5 On Your Side’s I-Team for help.
“What is your pain at right now,” said Sonya Hunt to her son C.J.
“10,” he groaned.
It wasn't always this way for C.J. Hunt. But since September 11th, the 6th grader often can’t walk.His mother said it happened at the Ritenour School District. C.J. and his special education class were on a stairwell, when she said one of the school's regular education kids pushed him from behind.
“I said, C.J. how do you know they pushed you and he said ‘mama I felt it in my back,’” Hunt said.
And he fell, his knee striking the floor.
“They pushed me down the steps and they laugh and they laughed at me while I was crying,” he said.
C.J. ended up spending five days in the hospital.
The diagnosis: extreme nerve-damage in his right knee, also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). The syndrome often puts him in intense pain and sometimes makes it impossible for him to stand or walk.
“My knee, it always hurts it is hard for me to sleep. . . If you spray something on it to block the pain it feels like lava,” He said.
And now his mother has to homeschool him.
“He’s in pain all day, pain all night,” said Hunt.
It's been going on for almost 3 months, and there's another problem. Hunt said the day after her son hit the stairs she complained to the 6th grade principal of Ritenour Middle School.
She said it has been 2 and 1/2 months and she has still not heard from the principal or the administration.
But Hunt also said staff told her there wasn't enough teacher supervision on the stairwell where C.J. was hurt.
“I did contact his teacher she told me she was held up with another student so that just left one teacher to lead them up the stairs,” said Hunt.
Hunt also showed us this email she said was written by C.J.’s teacher saying, in part, she would "mention to the administrators that there has been a lack of supervision."
“I am like oh my gosh, how could my baby feel like this?” said Hunt.
That leaves her and her son waiting to hear from the school district and waiting for C.J. to heal and enjoy life again.
“I miss playing, I’m miss going walking, I miss going swimming, I miss doing a lot of stuff,” C.J. said.
The Ritenour School District declined to do an on-camera interview, but they did send a statement saying that privacy laws prevent them from talking about CJ's case.
They also said anti-bullying programs are in place at all of the schools in the district.
