I’m worried about D. She’s been quiet lately and she broke down tonight. I’m calling the school nurse tomorrow, hoping she can get word to her teachers, and then I’m calling the pediatrician for a referral to a concussion specialist.
She said her brain feels like it’s processing very slowly and she’s having problems focusing. All her work is taking much longer. She always has high expectations for herself and she can’t meet them now. She is very discouraged.
We have a scholarship competition, a college overnight, and an interview scheduled in the next week. I’m ready to just forget all of it. I think it’s just too much now. Telling her no isn’t the best option, but I hope she will decide to at least cut back and reschedule the things we can. None of this is as important as her health.
Now I think she is worried about me because she just saw me and asked if I was okay.
Meanwhile, two of us just got over a virus and two more are starting. D18 is the only one who has not had it yet. I hope she can stay healthy. She doesn’t need to get sick now on top of everything else.
@MACmiracle , I’m so sorry to hear all of this.As someone who had a concussion in 2012, I can tell you those symptoms remind me a lot of what it felt like. The timing is just awful (not that it’s ever a nice time to have a concussion) but the worst thing she can do is return to normal activity before she is ready. It’s one of the biggest regrets I have. A specialist may be able to shed some light and help guide her return to full activity.
@MACmiracle Sorry to hear! Please take the time she needs to rest! My son played football and had two friends get concussions (subsequently he decided to stop playing). One boy took 10 days before he could come back to school and then it was part time. The other boy took almost three weeks and again part time. It was hard on both, especially the reading once they were finally allowed to. Maybe you can contact the scholarship competition and reschedule? And if she isn’t feeling up to it by Friday I would reschedule the college overnight. Between the virus and concussion she has to be worn down. Best wishes!
@MACmiracle I’m so sorry…that is a lot to be going through and the concussion symptoms can be so disruptive. I think you are right to trust your mom instincts. Hopefully she can reschcedule some things and get much needed rest. Keep us posted. HUGS!
@MACmiracle Does your D have sensitivity to light, headaches? I know concussion symptoms can linger in some and disappear quickly in others. Wishing your D a speedy recovery.
D got three more apps (4 schools) submitted tonight. Two were due tonight. Of course, D employed the tried and true “just in time method.” And the other app was the CSU app, which included CPSLO and SJSU. So six schools submitted so far. Many, many to go.
@MACmiracle I’m so sorry to hear this! Maybe she can apply without visiting the campus? Or did she have to go for the scholarship competition? Any way to postpone this? Or have her participate via Skype or anything like that? When I had my concussion, I didn’t ride in a car for a couple of weeks, and then I didn’t go far for several weeks thereafter. The rough roads bothered me, and I wonder whether a long ride would bother your D? So sorry!
I think I would reschedule anything I could. And it’s good to get a consultation with a specialist. The kids I’ve known with concussions were basically forbidden from doing any kind of homework or anything where they had to do any processing for a couple weeks. And even then they started back slowly.
@DavidPuddy I hear you on NHS. My daughter is in it for the special cord at graduation, lol. She will have almost 500 volunteer hours at the end of high school, so it’s not like she doesn’t give back. She does the bare minimum for NHS, since she is not an officer. Our NHS is not super active and is kind of disorganized, anyway.
On the computer issue …I am also waiting until summer to buy, to figure out what she needs. One school is a iPad only school for her major, but I’m thinking she might need a laptop for her other classes? And she’ll probably need a new phone, too.
CC definitely needs a “money blowing freely in the wind” emoji. =))
Wow busy board! We do not have rank at our HS, but they do have a selection of the “top 10” in March or April? Think it is based on 7 semesters of work. Basically depends on how many honors classes they take. I hate it because all Bs in 10 honors classes is “better” than all As in 9 classes etc. I’m sure my S will be in top 10 as was my D16, but I still detest it.
In other news I thought might resonate, I had to pick my holiday work schedule for 2018 recently. So I’m looking at. 10 different collegiate academic calendars for 2018-19! Finally gave up because they were all over the map.
Oh and nothing new written, nothing new submitted, nothing new at all on admissions front.
She originally was told the concussion was mild and told she could go back to school in a few days, but when it was clear she wasn’t ready the pediatrician had her stay home a couple of days longer. So she still only she had a week’s rest before returning to a normal schedule.
But as you all are saying, the pediatrician warned us that doing too much too soon would prolong the symptoms. That might be part of what happened.
She has already applied to all the colleges. There’s only one scholarship competition so we can’t reschedule that, but the chances for winning were always small.
The two other schools are ones she has already applied to but we were going to visit because they are all close to each other. So those visits really are not necessary now.
@MACmiracle i am sorry that she is still experiencing symptoms.
@DavidPuddy Wow… no double dipping on the volunteer hours does make it hard!
At least for DD2018 some of the secondary honorary societies will accept a portion of their hours double dipped and the volunteer hours for her chapter of NHS is a manageable 20 for the year, 10 each semester. 10 hours are individual and 10 must be group hours, it’s the 10 group that are often hard to come by. DD picks up much of her hours helping teachers before and after school, when she is waiting for cheer practice and games to start.
I am sure it looks like on her college apps that she does not volunteer much as she only listed one volunteer activity that she worked on consistently throughout the years. Most of her hours are one time events like working a fundraiser for cancer research or something and there is just no sensible way to list multiple, one off, volunteer activities on applications. So, it was her hope that by listing NHS as an EC that adcom’s would recognize that she is putting in volunteer time, somewhere, because most NHS chapters have a volunteer requirement.
Whew, D got her Tulane app submitted in the nick of time. I came out at about 10 pm and she had fallen asleep over her laptop. I woke her up & she carried on. Proud of her today!
Prayers for your daughter @MACmiracle ! So scary but she is lucky to have you looking after her.
S18 got 2 honors college apps submitted last night. The essay he wrote for one, about his “intellectual” life, was by far the best he has prepared. All of us reading it at the house were blown away. It was much better than his Common App essay, to the point we are wondering if he can switch his Common App essay before he submits it to a few of his regular decision, higher reach colleges. We are going to look into that.
Opening night for S18’s fall play! It’s a Shakespeare “dramedy.” We are a bit worried that the cast as a whole is not quite prepared, at least for opening night. Could be painful for the audience. I am setting my expectations low.
@MACmiracle so sorry to hear your D is still not better.
I would definitely postpone the overnight and other college visit. I would let the school with the scholarship competition know about her health issue, so they don’t think she just wasn’t interested.
I agree that her health is the most important thing right now.
Our NHS chapter requires a few in-school community service hours, and they offer several ways you can achieve that. My S has helped with the blood drive and handed out water and snacks. He just had to be at school an hour early. They also do a program where they go to local elementary schools and read to the kids there. They can tutor at the middle and high school for a few hours a week and we have Special Olympics and you can be a hugger for the athletes.
S’s chapter of NHS is pretty low-stress. Students are inducted at the end of junior year and except for one meeting after induction all the NHS activity is senior year. There’s a small volunteer component, maybe 20 hours, and there’s no restriction against the hours counting for more than one organization. S has volunteer opportunities through his FIRST robotics team and as long as he gets them preapproved by his NHS advisor they will count toward NHS hours. The only catch is the preapproval; if he doesn’t get permission from NHS beforehand then they don’t count for NHS. No big deal if that happens though, because S has time and he likes the NHS volunteer opportunities too, and those don’t require the student-initiated preapproval since NHS has approved them for all members. Other than the volunteer hours, the group usually just meets once a month and the members have to attend a certain number of meetings throughout the year.
Less for us @mommdc…here students are off all of next week. The school district started the week-long Thanksgiving break when S was in 8th grade and it’s wonderful!
Add me to the well-wishers for your D, @MACmiracle.
D still has a loooong way to go on apps. I’m hoping she can use the time this weekend to knock some out so that she doesn’t have to worry about them over Thanksgiving, but I’m not holding my breath. Older D is bringing 2 of her friends home with her for break so we will have a full house with lots going on!
