<p>worst case scenario (apart from dog sled malfunction or a warped digiridoo): mom has the flu. (this is true, btw) auditions are in Boston on Sunday morning and a week from Thursday in NYC. DS is manifesting all the signs and symptoms of coming down with same disease. mom has been sick for over a week. high fever, coughing and sneezing, no appetite, muscle weakness, extreme fatigue. since mom is still sick, we don't really know how long this lasts. administering vitamin c, elderberry echinacea etc. and lots of chicken soup and fluids. fever still climbing.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever dealt with illness at audition time? the experienced parents on this forum have been so helpful--thought I'd ask.</p>
<p>Get your son to the MD for Tamiflu NOW!!! It can be extremely effective if taken early in the game! Add in Halls Immune Defense Booster drops and plenty of fluids- now is the time for him to take some extra days off from school to rest and build up his immune system. As for you, you are going to feel icky for a while, face it and take those Halls drops yourself. I can only speak from personal knowledge since I came down with a nasty case of the flu on Christmas Eve and although I’m better, I am no where near up to snuff. You’ve probably run yourself ragged over the past few months,and the minute a germ looks for a place to land, it finds parents who are exhausted from all the “fun” of audtion season! Take care of yourself, rest as much as you can and keep the fluids going (Gatorade was all I could keep down for almost a week- it’s good for your son too). Oh, get a vaporizer running for him to keep the moisture levels up. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon- make that MD appt today!</p>
<p>Get your son to the MD for Tamiflu NOW!!! It can be extremely effective if taken early in the game! Add in Halls Immune Defense Booster drops and plenty of fluids- now is the time for him to take some extra days off from school to rest and build up his immune system. As for you, you are going to feel icky for a while, face it and take those Halls drops yourself. I can only speak from personal knowledge since I came down with a nasty case of the flu on Christmas Eve and although I’m better, I am no where near up to snuff. It was the middle of audition season and I was almost asleep on my feet from horrible, long drives in all kinds of snow and ice. By noon on December 24th, I felt like a bus had hit me and by 4PM I was wishing that it would come back and finish me off!
You’ve probably run yourself ragged over the past few months,and the minute a germ was looking for a place to land, it found a parent who was exhausted from all the “fun” of audition season! Take care of yourself, rest as much as you can and keep the fluids going (Gatorade was all I could keep down for almost a week- it’s good for your son too). Oh, get a vaporizer running for him to keep the moisture levels up. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon- make that MD appt today!</p>
<p>Thanks for the Tamiflu recommendation! New one on me. I’m booking the appt. with the pediatrician first thing in the a.m. Everything else OTC is being done including the vaporizers and the drops etc. etc.</p>
<p>Reducing the school schedule is not a problem, however tomorrow DS is supposed to be in Philadelphia for a string quartet rehearsal and recital (prep. for the upcoming 3/1 gig) and I know the coach will blow if DS is not there. Thursday he has to go into NYC to rehearse with the pianist for his audition gig. Otherwise, I’d have him home and dosing quietly right up until departure time.</p>
<p>If he really has the flu, I would inform the director - he may not want everyone exposed.</p>
<p>If he has the flu, he must stay home until the symptoms abate. Get him to the doctor, then into the bed…if he has fever, he is very contagious.</p>
<p>I agree 100% with lorelie and cartera. Its important that he doesn’t spread this throughout his quartet/school etc. The flu can be very serious business for people with weak immune systems, heart conditions, asthma, babies and the elderly. I know that sounds like a commercial, but it is true. We all get the flu shot every October…it does help! We’ve each maybe gotten a watered down version of the flu or bad colds over the past 7 yrs, but nothing serious. I nagged both of my kids to get theirs last year, at school…neither did…lol, both were sick all winter long. I know the flu doesn’t protect from other things, but it seems like once they had the flu, their systems were so weakend, they were susceptible to everything else out there. This year, they both got it, lol. I guess living through something yucky is more informative then mom telling you to do it.</p>
<p>There was already some great advice on treatment. You should get him to the doctor to ask if your son is contagious though. When the kids are sick at sons school, they have to sit out of their vocal classes to avoid spreading the illness to everyone.</p>
<p>thanks everyone
yesterday and today were cancelled as he is so obviously sick. we have a dr. appt. this p.m. of course, a concern is not just getting well enough to take the audition, but his practice schedule this week which is completely thrown off. not certain what to do about tomorrow which had the following: NYC to rehearse with the accompanist for the Juilliard audition (still a week off thankfully); coaching session with his two favorite coaches (already advised about the illness); recording session with string quartet for the Fischoff (remember that?). </p>
<p>BTW, the tip on the other thread about vicks vapo rub on the feet really does work. in fact, i am something of a standing joke in the family as i treat everything with vicks vapo rub (like the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding who uses Windex as a sovereign remedy). However, it won’t cure the flu but can help with upper resp viruses.</p>
<p>laments today from DS’s private teacher over the phone: “he’s worked so hard to reach this point and to get sick now!!!”</p>
<p>Update with more flu info: according to the doctor, Tamiflu is no longer effective against Influenza A strains which have become 95% resistant; but he did give DS something called Relenza, which should have the same effect. Everything cancelled (as dr. confirmed DS is very contagious) including the accompanist in Boston so that we aren’t bound to the Saturday rehearsal and can go up on Saturday afternoon, giving DS a chance to rest up until the last moment. Unfortunately, DS is still not feeling very well and unable to practice.</p>
<p>Don’t mean to scare anyone, but an evidently perfectly healthy 15 year old local boy died of the flu. His dad was interviewed tonight on the news and he said he literally went from fine to near death in no time. The doctor said it was the strain that the flu shot is not effective against.</p>
<p>It is very hard to deal with sickness as a musician (and when you are a parent of one!). DS had one good bout in the fall, and it reinforced the importance of making his health a number one priority - sleep, food, humidifier, and all those good things. Knock-on-wood, it seems to be working this spring.</p>
<p>it’s important to keep it all in perspective!</p>
<p>we needed the dog sleds after all. the trip up was uneventful but snow and ice blew up in boston sunday morning on our way out. by southern connecticut all was well and we made philadelphia in time for the concert (i was the last person inside the doors as they were closing and DS was able to rehearse quickly with his 4tet backstage during the first half and intermission)
two feet of snow was called for philadelphia starting in the evening and it was indeed coming down by the time we headed home to nj (normally not so dreadful but after 2 days of straight driving it added that little bit of extra excitement to the behind the wheel routine)
ds managed well enough although when we arrived at the hotel he was so wiped he pitched face first onto the bed and lay there for an hour until food arrived. the relenza definitely made it possible for him to play the audition at all, though he had only managed a 40 minute practice session the night before and had not really been able to practice all week. i thought playing the 4tet at the big schnazzy recital deserved an iron cross or something. these weren’t his best performances but may be my favorite to look back on
(oh, and the teacher he is interested came in that morning <em>only</em> to listen to DS’s audition and pulled him into his office afterwards for an hour so despite everything, DS is very happy about how things turned out)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your sage counsel and wise suggestions! The Relenza was a life save.</p>
<p>Glad it worked out. You were lucky that this storm was kind enough to wait.</p>
<p>Timing is everything. Glad to hear things worked as well.</p>
<p>Luck had nothing to do with it! We had our sled dogs perform a quintet on digiridoo as an incantation to charm the weather.</p>