The effects were seizures, rapid heart rate and a metabolism in overdrive, causing Michaela to lose 10 percent of her body weight within a week, Tuck said. The girl was admitted to Primary Children's Medical Center.

"She should not have overdosed on her asthma medicine at school," Tuck said.

"We did not know when we decided to move Tooele did not have a full-time nurse. I just took for granted everyone had a full-time school nurse everywhere in the country," she said. "I don't understand why Utah state is so pro-family, and so invested in children, but when they walk out the door to go to school, they stop mattering."

Tuck says she does not blame the school or anyone in it for the incident. That's why she's taking on the system.

Tuck started The Michaela Petition, which calls for a full-time nurse in every Utah school, "even if it means a slight increase in our property taxes. Children deserve educational environments prepared for emergencies."

The mother of five started small, with her own family gathering signatures at Little League football games, restaurants, the grocery store — everywhere they went.

Word of the effort quickly spread.

"There are well over 100 people, maybe close to 200, that are working on it," Tuck said.

LDS Business College students in Dawn Martindale's history and political science class have taken it up as part of their service learning project, aimed at bringing lobbying lessons to life.

Tuck addressed the Utah School Nurses Association conference, where she picked up more than 80 signatures and a cadre of professionals to take the petitions to their communities.

Even a man she met in the emergency room waiting area took a petition and returned it with 60 signatures.

The American Federation of Teachers-Utah, which for two years has been working with school nurses to make legislators aware of the issue, also has teamed up with Tuck, said Pat Fender, organizer and field representative.

AFT-Utah since faxed the petition to other state labor unions for signatures and took it to its October convention in St. George, Fender said.

"I think that every parent who has a child with medical needs needs to be on board with Paula," she said.

Her group also is working with Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, who has requested a bill file dubbed, "Legislative Task Force Studying School Nurses."

Mayne could not be reached for comment. But Sen. Patrice Arent, D-South Cottonwood, said she plans to co-sponsor the task force legislation.

"Students are now bringing many more health-care issues with them to school than they ever have in the past," Arent said. "It's difficult for students to learn when they are not healthy."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com