<p>My daughter was in a terrible accident 9 days ago that resulted in a fractured skull, some bleeding in her brain and swelling. She is doing much better now but she is still going to have a long road before she is back to her old self. I have not mentioned it to her yet because I feel it is much too early but what if she is unable to start school in August? She will be on the other side of the country and that in itself makes me nervous. If the worst occurs and she needs to defer for either a semester or a year, who would I make contact with at the school? I never thought that this would be a problem we would be facing when going through the college process!</p>
<p>Best wishes to your daughter for a successful and speedy recovery.</p>
<p>About a deferral, you might consider contacting the Registrar’s office, or perhaps the Admissions office - either one should be able to give you the proper contact name.</p>
<p>Our thoughts and prayers are with your daughter and your family.</p>
<p>So sorry to hear about your daughter. I’m glad she is doing better. I hope you are also.</p>
<p>I agree that the admissions office or registrar’s office would be your best starting point.</p>
<p>I hope her recovery continues to go well. My thoughts are with you.</p>
<p>I want to express my cares and hopes that your daughter has a good recovery and that it is not long. I am so sorry she has gone through this and how hard it is on you. I’m sorry to say that I can relate to you in that my daughter was also in a serious car accident in March of the year she applied to college and was receiving her acceptances in the hospital in fact. It was a long recovery from bad injuries, but they told us it would take six months and so she was all better in time to start college in September. </p>
<p>Ask the doctors how long they feel your D’s recovery might take. You could inquire at the college with the admissions office as a “just in case” inquiry…explain the situation and I’m sure they would help in terms of a deferral. But not sure you have to decide yet about that (depending on how long the doctors think recovery should take). </p>
<p>In the long run, the main thing is that your D recovers and thankfully she survived. The rest can be worked out and she will get to college when she is ready.</p>
<p>Thinking of you through this challenging time. Hugs.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry to hear this! You must be beside yourself with worry. Many wishes for a quick and complete recovery for your daughter. </p>
<p>The suggestions above are good ones.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear about your D’s accident. Many wishes for a smooth, complete recovery.</p>
<p>If it sets your mind at ease, call the school and ask for information. It can’t hurt and any stress reduction can only be good.</p>
<p>The school has already allocated her a place so they’ll want to make sure she’s ready for school whenever that is. I agree with the advice: talk to them and you’ll see they’ll be very sympathetic and will want to work with you.</p>
<p>Peg, so sorry to hear that. How scary.</p>
<p>A friend’s ds, freshman in college, had a serious heard injury in March requiring surgery. He was in ICU for a week or so. This month, he went to China. Kids can heal so quickly so maybe it won’t be an issue come the fall. Still, I’d call now and see what your options are.</p>
<p>Here’s to a speedy and complete recovery for your D.</p>
<p>After you speak with the Registrar and Admissions offices, you might also consider talking with the Dean of Students, in case she needs any special accommodations such as physical therapy or a reduced courseload once she starts classes.</p>
<p>“she is still going to have a long road before she is back to her old self.”</p>
<p>Based on that statement alone, you should not hesitate for even 1 minute about contacting the admissions office and asking for a deferral. Aug is only 3 short months from now! If her Drs aren’t confident at this point that she will be back to normal AND able to handle all the complexities of the transition to college life BY HERSELF 3 months from now, then it’s time to make that call, mom. Imagine how you both would feel if she has to come home early from college because she wasn’t ready yet. College can wait. It will still be there next year. You need to help your D give herself the time to heal.</p>
<p>Many blessings to your daughter and the family. I am sure you are thankful that you are just talking about deferral. Every year in my town for the past four years one of our highschool seniors has been killed in a car accident. Last year there were three in the car and they all died. The balloons were still flying on the front of the house from the senior grad party the day before. </p>
<p>Head injuries could be quick to heal while others may have more lasting effects. You need to speak to the doctors about her recovery and ask their opinion if her attendance in late August will be too soon. In the meantime ask the dean of students or admissions about a possible deferral. I wish your daughter a speedy 100% recovery. This is only a blip in the plan of life…it really has little meaning when you think about how lucky your daughter and the family has been. </p>
<p>Has your daughter even brought up the subject of college since the accident?</p>
<p>Well, I wouldn’t assume she will have to defer a year. Nevertheless, I’d call the college and tell them the situation. I am sure they will be accommodating.</p>
<p>And I am thinking of your daughter and your family, and hoping for a speedy and uneventful recovery.</p>
<p>I agree…talk to the registrar/admissions folks. They will be able to help you navigate this in a “what if” sort of way. Agree also about the Dean of Students…when DD had a health issue this winter, that person was the front man in terms of helping her continue her courses with reasonable accommodations. Good to know what the options are if you need them.</p>
<p>My prayers are for a speedy and complete recovery for your daughter.</p>
<p>Peg.</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. Prayers for a speedy and COMPLETE recovery.</p>
<p>Please keep us updated on her progress. </p>
<p>Love and Hugs XOXOX</p>
<p>This is a terrible thing for her- and you - to go through. I think 9 days into recovery, it must be too early to tell much. Is she fatigued? Any problems that you are noticing? Do you know what part of the brain the swelling and bleeding were in? Do you have access to a neurologist who can answer questions in detail, as things progress?</p>
<p>I have one piece of advice after a year of frustration dealing with my spouse’s stroke. Just make sure that there is a neuro MD and also a neuro-psych. person who understand a lot about the particular injuries your daughter has. Use the best rehab you can find, and get her the best testing, preferably in a large urban teaching hospital/rehab. It really makes a difference.</p>
<p>If there are subtle effects that you observe, and everyone tells you she is “fine,” get someone else to treat/help her. She is over 18, presumably, so your daughter would also have to be on board with this, but hopefully she will be.</p>
<p>In our experience, colleges seem to allow for unexpected problems before or even the day of school starting. Talking with a dean’s office would be good. Does her school have a freshman dean’s office?</p>
<p>Also, you might want to check in with the disabilities office. I am not saying that your daughter is or will be disabled, but she has had an injury and might need accommodations of some kind, temporarily, particularly in order to get rest.</p>
<p>I’m sure you will have a lot of good medical advice about what to do, once things are clearer. But if things are 50-50, I would err on the side of caution. Our daughter has migraines and partial seizures, and school work can be quite taxing for the brain while recovering from an event like those, so even more for an accident like your daughter’s.</p>
<p>Was she alone? Is she dealing with friends being injured as well?</p>
<p>Good luck…and, again, so sorry…</p>
<p>I had a skull fracture and concussion when I was a pre-teen. I looked okay long before I really was okay. Thinking hurt, and intensive thinking hurt more. I don’t even want to think what my reading comprehension was like a month or two later. I also was depressed, and much, much later learned that was a pretty common side effect of the kind of fracture I had. In the end everything resolved just fine, but it was a bigger deal that it probably looked to others. </p>
<p>People vary, and where the skull fracture is makes some difference too. (They also know a lot more about head injuries now.) I’d make contact with the office to alert them that this might be an issue. I hope your daughter can have the gift of time to heal. Maybe another possibility is taking a very light load first semester. </p>
<p>I’m very sorry that she – and you – are having to face this. I hope her healing proceeds very expeditiously.</p>
<p>My husband had a brain injury at age 42. One thing we learned is that there is something called “brain injury fatigue” and it can last up to a year or even longer. I would certainly agree with the other posters that it is too soon to know how quickly your daughter will recover, but if I were in your shoes, I would begin the conversations with the admissions office and/or the registrar about the possibility of her needing to defer. </p>
<p>There is a reasonable chance, based on what you have said so far, that it might in her best interest to hold off for a semester or a year. I’m sure that idea would be disappointing to her, but she won’t be able to be fully engaged in the college experience if she is still dealing with repercussions from her accident.</p>
<p>Good luck to both you and your daughter. I know this is a very trying time.</p>
<p>I don’t know what to say, but I am happy she is alive. I am sure the college will make admission adjustments for this type of thing. Hopefully, she will surprise everyone and be well enough to start school in the fall. A few years ago, a former student of mine was in an awful car accident about this same time of year. He wasn’t able to go to graduation as he was still in the hospital and he wasn’t expected to be able to start college until fall of the following year. I guess youth was on his side because he surprised everyone and went off to school in the fall. He did have a cane, which I still think he has, but he had a great semester. Hopefully your daughter will surprise you. </p>
<p>Wishing you the best and my prayers are with you.</p>
<p>I sincerely hope that your daughter has a quick recovery. I am so incredibly sorry for her injury. I have been on a similar journey as my 16 yr D experienced a 10ft. fall and concussion as a result of a dropped stunt in competitive cheer leading this January. She did not have a fracture, nor bleeding but her post concussion symptoms have been formidable. </p>
<p>We are at month 4 and she still experiences fatigue and headaches, difficulty focusing her eyes/brain to take notes and do close work. She is getting better, but it is slow improvement. She missed two months of high school (sophomore year), she had to drop classes and we are not sure where it will take us on the college application journey. She is just now finishing work from the first semester. Her fall happened just before first semester finals so both semesters of work were effected.</p>
<p>If I had know then what I know now, I would have taken her out of school for the entire second semester. It was extremely difficult for her to return to school and she was not ready when she did. However, not everyone experiences post concussion symptoms. The really lucky ones heal without major consequences. A second concussion may be another story.</p>
<p>Fatigue and headaches will be very likely as well as depression. They say all most all heal in time, but it could take six months to a year for full healing. You are very wise to consider deferment.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your kind wishes and advice. it is too early today for me to make any sort of decisions. I am more or less thinking aloud. She has another CAT scan this week followed by visits with the GP who admitted her, the neurologist and the neurosurgeon. I have a notebook full of questions for them all although the GP really does nothing for me. he said she could resume all normal activities in a week!!! The Neurologist said no way. Guess who I am listening to? Headaches are easing thankfully but still hit full on when they come. Thankfully the meds help with this. I will definitely be taking her for a full workup of cognitive skills. She has been exempt from final exams so that is one less worry for her. Thank you again for all your caring words and for those who have gone through something like this, I absolutely understand your pain.</p>