<p>D was sick early on in the first semester, didn’t go to the health center, even though we urged her to, and then got much worse over the weekend. She’s an hour and a half away – we went up and took her to a clinic. Absolutely. We’re lucky we can. Told her to not put off going to the health center next time, though – it’s paid for, after all!</p>
<p>Don’t let anyone make you second guess yourself.
There is always going to be someone, who will disagree whether you picked her up or not.
I think it’s a good idea for your D to look for a MD near her school.</p>
<p>Our experiences with both kids at two different colleges was the same…health clinic closed on weekends.</p>
<p>And since they are/were 8-10 hours away, it became key to make sure they knew where they could go on a weekend. </p>
<p>By the way, I would have gone in a minute if I had been that close…you are lucky you were able to do it. Your friend is simply wrong.</p>
<p>“Gets boring after a decade or two” – LOL, Frazzled!</p>
<p>I listened to the advice of others regarding my children, then listened to my heart and did exactly what I felt I should do knowing my own kids. I wouldn’t be rushing to the phone to ask that snarky friend to lunch anytime soon! Our D called us at 2 am last semester - had flu-like symptoms apparently from the flu shot she received that day! She is nearly 6 hours away and H and I were ready to hit the road if she wasn’t any better in the morning (which she was).</p>
<p>How lovely is it in this cold old world we live in to have someone we can count on through thick and thin? I always told my children that my least favorite thing about being an adult was taking care of myself when I was sick. I even told my new SIL at the end of the wedding day’s festivities last summer to take good care of that daughter of ours and if they needed help at any time, we would come, no matter where they were. We won’t come unless asked, but we will drop everything and get to our kids if they need help. I am only going to be on this earth for so long and I intend to let them know they can count on me (if I am able) until my dying day. I don’t call that smothering, I call that love.</p>
<p>I would do the same as you are doing. If my D is sick and wants to be at home, I would just listen to her. If not, what is family for? I expect the same treatment from all my family members.</p>
<p>It’s one thing if you’re running to school every time a kid sneezes and I’ve seen moms who do that. But heck, if it only takes a 2 hour drive I’d go sit with my sick kid just to keep them company if they wanted me to (fat chance!).</p>
<p>You did the right thing, i.e. what I would have done in similiar circumstances. LOL</p>
<p>Driving a few hours to get medical help for a loved one is quite reasonable. You do not know how sick they really are without professional opinion(s).</p>
<p>What if it had been meningitus?</p>
<p>Good job! I would have done the same thing. Flu is not a joke, and can have serious complications. In addition to making sure your D is resting comfortably, you did the other kids in the dorm a favor by removing your D and preventing her from spreading her bug to the others over the weekend. Do not feel guilty, health-related matters do not fall under the definition of helicoptering IMO.</p>
<p>I think we’re all pretty much in agreement. I’d leave that friend out of the loop next time. My 80 year old mom came to take care of me when I had a hip replacement and I hope I’m around to do the same if my D needs me. </p>
<p>I heard a news report that Tamiflu is not working with at least one of the strains.</p>
<p>Forget what “friend” said. I just envy you because my D wants to go 7 hours away.</p>
<p>You did the right thing. My rule of thumb is" follow what your gut tells you when you hear their voice and you own inner voice". You instinctively know what they can handle and what they can’t. Everyone can use help when they are sick and sometimes their judgement is impaired so you have to step in and advocate for your child.</p>
<p>Hopefully you made sure during your intervention that you helped your daughter identify how she can handle a similar situation in the future on her own – i.e. getting to a doctor in a timely manner, or going to the emergency room, taking Theraflu, etc. This is important because while you would like to always be able to be there for your child, the next time she gets sick might be on a weekday when you are in the middle of something major at work and cannot leave to drive a couple hours to her school; or when she’s going to school, working or traveling 10+ hours away. While it is OK to come to the assistance of a child at college, it is better to make sure you are also increasing the capacity of the child to handle things on his/her own in the future.</p>
<p>The heck with Miss Snarky Friend; this decision wasn’t even a close call. I would do the same for my son, who will be quite a bit further away than two hours next year, and I’d do the same for my mom in a heartbeat too. When I was ill with a terrible migraine, she drove eight hours round-trip to pick up my son (then a toddler) and take him home with her so I could sleep and recover while she saw to his needs. Not that I relish a chance to repay her in a similar manner (don’t ever want her to be so sick that she wants or needs my help), but I’d be by her side in a heartbeat if she needed me. mamazilla, I wouldn’t be surprised if your daughter feels the same way toward you as she gets older.</p>
<p>What is the point of having a campus health center that is closed on weekends? Why would any college or university do that?</p>
<p>I hope your daughter is feeling better. I also think you did the right thing–butno one, really has a right to tell you what to do in terms of how you interact with your child in an instance like this–we all do what we think is best for our own families. Like other posters, I am surprised that there is no campus health care available on weekends. but it’s good you were a manageable distance away and were able to take action that would help your daughter and make you feel more comfortable as well.</p>
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<p>I find this mind-boggling, too.</p>
<p>They must have SOME kind of emergency health care available, if only for cases of alcohol poisoning. And people do have accidents on Saturday and Sunday!</p>
<p>I also agree that flu is not a minor thing, it can have severe complications, and you did the right thing. Boo on snarky friend.</p>
<p>My daughter has the flu right now (a lousy case, with high fever for four days) and even had the flu shot. I don’t know what I would do if my college kid got the flu, but it is moot, since he is too far away to go fetch. With a child who is closer? I would consider it. This flu is absolutely nasty, and rest and quiet are best attained at home.</p>
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<p>Not really…at my school the health center is closed on weekends. Nothing available on campus then, campus police will call you an ambulance if you need health care.</p>
<p>My son just spent the entire weekend in the infirmary with the flu. He’s fortunate to have a school with a 24/7 infirmary, and it worked well for him to be able to sleep and have someone look in on him while hopefully avoid having his roommate inconvenienced (can’t avoid catching it by the time the symptoms start!). Heads up to parents of students headed off to school or there now - what is the back-up plan if you get sick? Assumably the Resident Assistant in the dorm would have some advice or contacts?</p>