<p>When my brother was a freshman, he felt really rotten–low fever, dizzy, headache, nausea, etc. The campus infirmary wasn’t much help–they ultimately sent him to the ER of the local (rural) hospital, which also didn’t seem sure of what was going on. My dad drove several hours to him, with the idea that he’d get my brother a good night’s sleep in a hotel and plenty of fluids, and give his friends and campus security (who were very good about driving him to the hospital) a break from looking after him. On his way up, my dad got a call.</p>
<p>Turns out it was a brain tumor and they were moving him to the large regional hospital for emergency surgery. A year later he’s in remission and back in school, but it was pretty harrowing.</p>
<p>All this to say that it’s hard to know from a distance (or sometimes even up close!) how serious an illness is, but that parents are often the best caretakers and advocates of their sick kids. Most of the time college students will get over the flu or other bug just fine; friends and roommates can really come through when asked (sometimes the hardest part is just reaching out and asking!), but if you’re close enough to help AND your kid wants it, why not?</p>