<p>Sigh… two days before leaving for a 5-week summer program in Paris, my d comes down with strep. After a big ol’ shot of penicillin & some horse pills to bring along, the doc said she was fine to travel. She wasn’t feeling 100%, but felt well enough to go & not contagious. Got a call after her arrival, and she’s in tears feeling absolutely horrid (woozy, nauseous). She tried to do the required orientation (extensive, lots of traveling around), but had them drive her back to housing after a short time - She was feeling faint. She feels they’re treated her like Typhoid Mary, wondering why she was even there (didn’t help). I just talked with her in her room, and she “just doesn’t want to do this, feeling too sick”. I told her to get a good night’s sleep, try to do orientation tomorrow. If she feels too ill to complete orientation tomorrow, I’m not sure what I’ll do. Drop deadline is end of business on Tuesday, with only a 25% refund. What would you do? Pay out the wazoo and fly her home?</p>
<p>Darn! That stinks! Why doesn’t she see a doctor there? Maybe she doesn’t just have strep. She could have a virus too, or even mono.</p>
<p>I would think she might be having a reaction to the penicillin. Has she had penicillin before without a problem? I know my daughter often has trouble with antibiotics-diarrhea, stomach pains, nausea, etc. Tell your daughter to drink plenty of fluids and take some tylenol; she might be dehydrated from the flight. I bet she will perk up after a good nights sleep and fluids; if not maybe someone should take a look at her throat.</p>
<p>I hope she is feeling better shortly.</p>
<p>I suspect she’ll feel better after getting over the jet lag and, hopefully, getting rid of the bug. It’s no doubt a bit unsettling being there even in the best of circumstances, but feeling sick makes it all the more difficult. I would encourage her to stick it for at least a few days out because she’d probably really feel horrible after the initial comfort of being home wears off. Call her a lot, though. I think a parents voice is extremely comforting when you feel crummy, no matter how old you are … Good luck.</p>
<p>Gosh, people, I’m <em>so</em> sorry that this has happened to your D at this very inopportune time! I am thinking that perhaps how she’s feeling is a combination of things as a couple of the above posters have pointed out. Jet lags, reaction to medication, and perhaps homesickness intensified by her feeling so awful.</p>
<p>I do know how she feels. During my freshman year of college, I was in Colombia for two weeks when I got <em>very</em> sick there…this was before the times of email/internet/cell phones, etc., and it was extremely frightening. I do think that with all of the support your D can get from you, she will most likely be able to recover and salvage the trip. I’d encourage her to give it a go for a couple of days. I’m hoping that by then, her meds will kick in full force and she will begin a quick and full recovery. Do keep in mind, though, that strep can be serious and some strains are resistant to certain antibiotics. Be sure to keep tabs on her recovery, and if she’s not doing better soon, please have her seen where she is.</p>
<p>{{{{{{{hugs to you and to your D}}}}}}}</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Is she taking the horse pills with food or milk? That can help with the nausea, unless she’s been told that she has to take the medicine on an empty stomach for it to absorb better. </p>
<p>Is there a doctor she can see in France? By day 3-4, you’d normally expect the antibiotic to be kicking in pretty good. So if she’s really not getting better, she probably should see someone.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry to hear this. I think she should stay in the program. I would bet that she will be feeling a lot better by Tuesday.</p>
<p>That penicillin shot made her feel amazing better within a couple hours, her throat unswelled, fever way down, etc. I think the med is doing its job. I’ll be talking with her frequently (probably well into the morning hours, due to time difference) I’m REALLY hoping that it’s a combination of lack of sleep (she didn’t sleep at all on the plane) and general residual ickiness, not seriously sick. The possibility that she’ll miss the required orientation tomorrow is very, very concerning - I’m not sure if the university will let her stay in the program if she misses it. She won’t get her Metro pass, orientation to where the campus buildings are (she’s staying 20 minutes away in a student residence foyer). The way she was talking a few hours ago, she “just wants to come home”. I think she’d regret it for a long, long time if she came home, but I’ll have to see if the university will let her continue w/o orientation.</p>
<p>Have her see someone there before you pull her out. Travelling always makes me feel worse when I’m sick, so it could be a combination of things that are impeding her recovery. Jetlag, stress, lack of sleep, etc. I’m sorry they’re not being very nice to her either. The mama instinct in us wants to bring them home, doesn’t it?</p>
<p>Oops, cross posted. Glad she’s feeling better, I’m sure the U will have some sort of back-up plan if she can’t make it.</p>
<p>Shortlist: Mama Bear is definitely emerging, wanting to go roaring into France myself to fix everything. She was getting very irrational (I could tell she felt horrible), in a panic because the plug in the bathroom says “razors only”. “I’ll never be able to dry and straighten my hair!!!” When you’re feeling like that, everything is a disaster. I coaxed her into attending the residence orientation session and group dinner tonight (she just had to walk downstairs for that, in the same building). I know she won’t feel too well, but I’m hoping she’ll feel less disconnected and alone, at least. Keep your fingers crossed for her…</p>
<p>It sounds like part of what she wants is security. So seeing a doctor there might fill that void a little bit, let her know that she’s got a safety net. </p>
<p>I agree with you that she’ll regret it if she backs out, but at least there’s always another opportunity, even for a dream trip. Opportunities for study aboard are so much more feasible than they were when we were their age.</p>
<p>My D. sometimes makes very abrupt about faces in new situations. Day one, she doesn’t see how she can succeed. Day three, everything is fine, and she barely remembers the initial trepedation. So I hope your D. will do the same once she gets her bearings.</p>
<p>My daughter got sick in Paris during a summer program. She went to the the person in the program that was like a “Residence Director” and they called a doctor in to see her. She was given medicine and shortly began to feel better. She spoke with the doctor in French and felt he was kind and appreciative of her efforts to converse in French. She had to put it on a credit card, but I don’t remember it being very expensive. Urge her to see the doctor to make certain she is responding to the medicine.</p>
<p>If, after a good night’s sleep, she’s not feeling much better, I’ll definitely have her ask for a doctor. I’m not sure how she’d get there, if they’d do a “house call” at the student residence.</p>
<p>Conyat: I just re-read your last paragraph, which sounds very much like my d.</p>
<p>“My D. sometimes makes very abrupt about faces in new situations. Day one, she doesn’t see how she can succeed. Day three, everything is fine, and she barely remembers the initial trepidation. So I hope your D. will do the same once she gets her bearings.”</p>
<p>I empathize with you. D got really sick while out of the country last summer at a program, so I know the feeling.</p>
<p>Have either your D or you spoken to any of the program administrators yet? Getting an individual orientation to the city and program later on may be a relatively simple thing for them to arrange. I can’t imagine this is the first time the program has ever run into something like this. Especially with the refund policy being what it is, I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t try to help.</p>
<p>I would approach it from that angle, get her to see the doctor there too, if necessary (it could very well be that the nausea is from the antibiotics) and play it by ear if she’s not feeling better. I’d also find out how flexible they are about that drop out date under the circumstances. At any rate I’d give a heads up as to what’s going on right now rather than waiting - if worse comes to worse, they may be willing to extend that drop date somewhat for her, which could buy her some more time.</p>
<p>Doctors making house calls is a much more common event in France than here. Much cheaper than a doctor here too! Most French programs include health coverage. I would ask them to get a doctor ASAP. </p>
<p>Indeed everything looks awful when you’re sick. Remind your daughter of this and tell her you think she would regret coming home. If this is a big investment for your family it’s OK to mention that leaving unless a doctor recommends it would not be a good idea.</p>
<p>Kids get sick, the program should accomadate that. She should rest for a couple of days and then be given a one-on-one orientation.</p>
<p>I just talked with her again - She made it to the housing orientation and group dinner, and figured out how to get WiFi access. She sounds thoroughly exhausted and homesick, but says she doesn’t feel quite as sick physically. Her roommate made the trip to Paris with her family, so I think that doesn’t help with the homesick part (sees her roommate laughing and talking with her mom) She’s now heading to bed. A good night’s sleep will hopefully work wonders.</p>
<p>Glad to hear that - sounds like worse won’t come to worst after all!</p>
<p>Think it might be a good idea to pass along what my D’s school suggests for families of students planning to study abroad. They mention that in case of an emergency it is a good idea for the family stateside to have passports. Luckily in your D’s case people it wasn’t really necessary for you to fly over there, but if for some reason it was…not having a passport (which I don’t) would really complicate things! Scary thought but good advice just in case.</p>