<p>momjr - glad to hear it! My son got very sick at school last March - they initially told him it was strep plus mono and I was so scared - both for his health and for his ability to successfully complete the semester. Turned out to “just” be really bad strep and he hung in there until spring break. No matter their age - a sick child is no fun.</p>
<p>RVM: I can’t imagine how a kid would deal with this type of illness at school. I’m glad your son managed to get through it. I’m very thankful that this hit during the break.</p>
<p>momjr - he also had swine flu last year - the first week of classes freshman year! As difficult as these experiences have been - it is part of growing up and he just had to deal with it on his own the best he could as we are 5+ hours away. But both instances were very upsetting and stressful and I am glad they are behind us.</p>
<p>I’m glad that your daughter feels better, momjr! Precautions still apply, of course, regarding alcohol!
Have any of you joined the “Parents’ Circle” for Hillel? It is a donation level where if your kid is sick at college, someone from Hillel will bring chicken soup! The only problem is that the donation level for this varies - we could afford it for Penn State but could not afford it at my boys’ schools (Ivies, so they must have thought everyone could pay more!) - we had to stick with a lower level of donation.
Anyway, one of the Pittsburgh JUC’s staff told me that she is convinced that she saved a student’s life one time because when she brought the soup, she could tell that the student was really, really sick so she got the student to the hospital, where he or she was admitted!</p>
<p>Does all this “getting sick” have anything to do with being in such close quarters with everyone in dorms? My children are never sick, yet I hear about kids in college getting sick pretty often!</p>
<p>Each boy got the manactra (sp?) shot before going to sleep away camp (forget exactly what age it was) and were told they would be fine for college because it’s a 10 year (or something like that) shot for kids in close quarters of each other in college…anyone know what I’m talking about?</p>
<p>UMich: Yeah, I think our boys are the same ages, senior and freshmen, right? My sisters two boys were the same exact spread too and now one is a college senior and one a college freshman…she told me it was great when the older one left and the younger one had the house to himself to form friendships, study, do his EC’s, and build his own confidence…I’m looking forward to “getting to know” my younger one without the older one over shadowing him too!</p>
<p>My d came home with mono also. Her school has a Hillel (or is it Chabad?) chicken soup hotline where they will deliver soup to your sick child. I’m pretty sure there was no set fee though of course they appreciate donations.</p>
<p>My best wishes to the sick girls. I’ve been there. I’m glad they have the break - a couple of weeks can work wonders.</p>
<p>Right, chocchipcookie, same ages and grades. I’m hoping that my younger son will open up once he’s alone in the house. Right now, my older one is the son who will spend time with me and actually talk to me, and my younger one really wants nothing to do w/ me…I’m thinking/hoping, that when it’s just us and he’s not overshadowed by his brother, he will gain some confidence and feel a lot more comfortable w/ his place in the home/school. It’s funny how the relationships in a family can evolve to a point where you’re not even sure how you got there. He’s a good kid, but very closed off…</p>
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<p>Too funny! My dad went to HS with Sandy Koufax! Lafayette HS in Brooklyn. Sandy was a couple years older. FYI - Fred Wilpon went there too (NY Mets owner - or former owner - I don’t keep track).</p>
<p>No mono here but D was sick with sinus infections several times during Fall semester. She knows she prone and would go to the health center for medicine, but sometimes she wasn’t sick enough! I thought it was from the new atmosphere - change in sleeping, not sleeping enough, living with so many kids in the dorm (although she has a single). I brought her to the doctor over Thanksgiving and he gave her meds to knock it out. Can’t imagine how hard it would be to have mono at school, especially first semester. UGH. That’s stressful for everyone.</p>
<p>My daughter has her own room in an apartment this year, so I don’t she caught mono from a close living situation. She’s also very careful in terms of hand washing and not sharing drinks. She is extremely busy and social, so who knows how she caught it. Before this, she has only caught colds at school. </p>
<p>My relationship with my younger daughter did get closer after her sister left for college, but it did took some time. At first, we all had to adjust to being a threesome instead of a foursome. The college visits were actually a good bonding experience. My daughter and I did some of the close ones together, and we did a few overnight trips with my husband. We had a really nice spring break road trip last spring school in the Northeast. My daughter seemed to enjoy that the college process was all about her, for a change. I think in her early high school years, she saw us as “the enemy,” but now realizes that we are on her side.</p>
<p>“Each boy got the manactra (sp?) shot before going to sleep away camp”</p>
<p>Menactra is the trade name for a quadrivalent meningitis vaccine, given routinely at age 11 or 12 and required by many colleges. It protects against the four most common serotypes of bacterial meningitis that strike teenagers and young adults (the bacteria that most commonly strike infants are different and are also vaccine-preventable) - unfortunately, there are other, less common serotypes that occasionally strike. Last year, my son called to say that three students at his school had bacterial meningitis. Two lived in the same fraternity; the other seemed to have no connection but may have gone to another fraternity or sorority for a party; it was decided to give prophylactic antibiotics to all fraternity and sorority members in the entire college, along with close contacts of the students who had contracted the disease, so my son called me as he was lining up to get his Cipro with his fraternity brothers. Thank God, the affected students recovered with no sequelae - they got outstanding medical care at UPenn’s hospital - but there had been a tragic death from meningitis during the previous semester (my son had been studying abroad during that semester, so I did not know about it until afterward). I called the UPenn health center to ask whether it was one of the serotypes in the vaccine, and it was not. So, our students need to be vigilant - fever, headache and rigid neck mean IMMEDIATE medical attention is imperative! Studies seem to show that frequent alcohol use makes people more susceptible to meningitis.</p>
<p>Mono: is spread, as you probably know, from saliva but some people who have it do not have symptoms, and people can shed it for many months after the initial infection. It is likely that it is transmitted by inanimate objects that have become contaminated with saliva. Many of our students have already had it as young children and we did not know - it may have caused no symptoms or just symptoms of a common cold.</p>
<p>Stay healthy, everyone! Handwashing is the best defense - I believe in carrying waterless hand gel everywhere - fortunately, after the swine flu hit last year, many colleges began putting dispensers of this around campuses.</p>
<p>Remember? Mono is the kissing disease…</p>
<p>We had a scare the summer before senior year for that reason, but fortunately it was only a really bad throat infection treatable by antibiotics. I told D to watch who she was kissing…</p>
<p>Yes, of course, kissing! But many deny this activity - so there are theories on spread by droplet and inanimate objects.</p>
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<p>Am I the only one who hears more than they would like about beer pong at school? ^^^</p>
<p>With all the talk about illness I thought it might be a good time to mention tuition insurance. With S1 as far from home as he is it seemed like a must…I think we may also arrange for a meningitis shot before going back to school. Insurance didn’t cover it last time I asked but I think we probably should go for it anyway.</p>
<p>RVM, thanks for clarifying about “race to nowhere”. I wish Levirm, Lin and I could get together for a virtual viewing :).</p>
<p>PRJ: It sounds like the dynamics of your community and HS dynamics are similar to ours.</p>
<p>“Am I the only one who hears more than they would like about beer pong at school?”</p>
<p>Haha. A couple of years ago, I was jogging by a student apartment near my house at 6 AM when a student, apparently up all night, called out to me, “Hey, do you want to play pong with me?”</p>
<p>Still jogging, I just looked at him and said, “Do you know how OLD I am? I am old enough to think that Pong is a video game!”
At least, the video game didn’t involve an exchange of saliva!</p>
<p>levirm - “Do you know how OLD I am? I am old enough to think that Pong is a video game!”</p>
<p>You do realize he probably had no idea what you were talking about?!? He probably thought, who is that crazy lady shouting about video games! I on the other hand was a proud owner of pong! The video game that is!</p>
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<p>Have you guys seen the new book: “Everything You Know is Pong”? It’s primarily about the ping version but there is a section on the electronic game. The authors were interviewed the other day on WNYC, the local NPR station.</p>
<p>If it’s any consolation I’ve heard fewer and fewer references to Pong since my son’s freshman year. I just hope it’s not because they’ve moved on to Bong.</p>
<p>I had a busy day yesterday so I wasn’t near a computer, but I want to thank DR. Levrim very much for the scientific explanation of all these illnesses! That was certainly helpful! </p>
<p>umich: you & I have the same children. I worry a lot about S2 also, but I feel as if he will find his own way, even though it’s very different than S1. I see very, very slight improvements in his demeanor…at the moment he is taking three honors classes. The honors classes he is getting B’s (one C+) and the regular classes he’s getting A’s! So he is consistent! 
I remember recently that Shawbridge told us that his D improved a bit each year, so there is hope!</p>
<p>I’m also worried about his social life. He loves to be by himself and has a hard time reaching out to other kids to “hang out”. That’s the part we are working on here slowly. Could be maturity level. Could be confidence. Slowly but surely I hope to eek him out of his shell.</p>
<p>Updating:</p>
<p>Vitrac: two daughters (Tulane '14 and high school '13)
Shawbridge: one son, one daughter
PRJ: two daughters (Brandeis '13 and high school '12)
Seiclan: two daughters (UF graduate '10 and UCF '12, one son - high school '12)
RVM: two sons, college at Wake Forest, high school junior
Umich: two sons, high school senior and freshman
spectrum: two sons
Yabe: one son, one daughter
momjr: two daughters, UPenn '12, HS senior–> BU
slitheytove: two daughters
Linymom: one daughter, one son, college freshman UDel, high school sophomore
college4three: two daughters, one son, Columbia
levirm: two daughters, two sons
mhc48: two daughers, one son
cherryhillmomto2: two sons
mdmomfromli: two daughters, high school junior and freshman
chocchip: two sons, high school senior, Tufts and freshman
Mom24boys: four sons, high school sophomore, 8th grade and twins in kindergarten
peonies: two daughters (college and HS)
collage1: three daughters, UPenn '13, HS senior, HS freshman
rodney: two daughters: Syracuse Newhouse '12, HS senior>>>>>Elon '15
MoltoBene: daughter: Tulane '09, daughter: Michigan '11, son HS senior>>???</p>