Kudos to Dorm Staff

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>My D, a first year, spent much of last Sunday in the U of C Hospital ER dealing with a badly sprained ankle. She had hurt it Saturday afternoon and woke up in extreme pain, with limited range of motion, on Sunday morning. As a former HS runner she knew something was wrong as she has an extremely high pain threshold and has had many previous stress fractures. With the help of her friends she negotiated the SCC phone system, and was told by the physician on call to go to the ER. She knew there was no way she could walk there, so she called her RHs. And boy did they come through. He arranged for the UCPD to come and transport them (my D and her RH) to the ER and he stayed with her for the entire 4 hours she was there. Her friends also did yeoman's duty by accompanying her, hanging out with her in the exam and x-ray waiting rooms, and heading to the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions. </p>

<p>I'm posting this to reassure parents of incoming first years that there is a terrific support system in place on this campus, should your child need it. The way the house structure works, with RAs, RHs and Resident Masters, insures that there is a community of people looking out for and supporting each other. Now she clearly could've called a cab, or tried to find a friend with a car, but I was very reassured to hear that once she involved her RH he took over and made the appropriate arrangements. As a parent whose kids have all gone to college more than 1200 miles from home it's really nice to know that there are people who care, who will help provide the "adult" assistance when necessary. And I can now see the difference between on and off campus living in this regard. My eldest, a 2007 U of C graduate, became quite ill his 3rd year and had to negotiate these things with only the help of his terrific friends. Calling a taxi to go to the ER at 3am was a very different experience for him. And finally, though spending the day in the ER with finals approaching would not be anyone's idea of a great weekend day, she was treated in a timely manner (for an ER, with a non-life threatening issue), by terrific staff.</p>

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<p>That's a great story, although one I think could be told about practically any college in the country.</p>

<p>From previous posts, I have the impression that your daughter lives in a dorm that's all of a block and a half from the hospital. In a pinch, she could have rolled herself there!</p>

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<p>Well JHS I would agree with you, except that I have a kid at another school and friends with kids at MANY other schools and though such is universally advertised and touted, it's not always the case. I guess I just remembered being a mom concerned about such things when I sent my kids off to college and I thought others in similar situations might appreciate knowing that in our case, the system worked.</p>

<p>And yes, she could have rolled, but she most certainly couldn't have walked...and that's how we knew there was an actual problem. This is a kid who ran with a tibial stress fracture for weeks before saying anything to us.</p>

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<p>I'm so glad your daughter was well cared for. My older S was a campus EMT through his college years in the northeast where RH/RA help was spotty at best.</p>

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<p>My son came down with whooping cough during winter quarter and needed to be confined to his room, the RHs, profs and housemates were absolutely, totally wonderful.(The walk in med center however is horrendous...he had a 105 fever and was made to sit for hours and hours because he didn't have an appointment. He was too out of it(delirious) to realize he should have gone to the emergency room...after he was diagnosed they sent him home on his own!)</p>