During college orientation, Elizabeth tested positive for Covid and missed her entire first week of classes. Then she texted us photos of two consecutive negative tests, and said she and her roommate had stopped wearing masks in their room, and we felt considerable relief. The next text we got was that EVERYTHING WAS FINE but she was in the ER. She had gone out for ice cream with friends, and had accidentally eaten a flavor that contained tree nuts, which she is allergic to. She took benadryl, which is the first step for her: it’s a relatively mild allergy, so small exposures caught early can often be treated with just benadryl. But she threw up the benadryl, which is one of the list of signals the allergist gave us that would indicate the benadryl was not sufficient in this case. So she called the campus emergency number, and they talked her through self-administering her Epipen which she had never done before, and they called her an ambulance, and she went to the ER.
That could have been broken into two to three paragraphs, but I packed it into one because THAT WAS HOW IT FELT.
We were texting back and forth with her while she waited out her time in the ER: they give her a bunch of medications to counteract the allergic reaction, but then she has to stay there for a certain number of hours so they can make sure those medications were sufficient to fully stop the reaction. This is when she mentioned casually that her release time was 10:30 p.m. (and we know from experiencing Hospital Time on numerous occasions that this could very well mean 11:00 or 11:30), and that she would need to find her own way back to campus BUT DON’T WORRY because the very nice nurse said he would help her figure out Uber.
Well. Well. Lots of good Life Experience happening these first couple of weeks.
She said while she was in her dorm waiting for the ambulance, her R.A. came by to check to see how she was recovering from Covid. She was like “Oh, yes, good news: two negative tests. But also, uh…”
She did manage to set up Uber and arrange a ride back to her dorm. We stayed up until she texted that she was safely back, which was right around 11:30 p.m. Paul then went immediately to sleep, and I lay awake feeling the kind of freezing cold where you know you have to get out of bed to get something warm but you’re too cold to do that. Eventually I had to pee (#evergreen), so I used that opportunity to put on a hoodie and get an extra blanket, and then I could sleep. I’d turned off Do Not Disturb on my phone in case there were further texts, but I worried I’d sleep through them; I worried about her going right to sleep in her room and maybe sleeping through signs that the reaction was back.
First thing in the morning, she texted to say she was fine and had lived through the night. Our insurance card has an instruction on it, saying that if you use emergency care you should call your PCP within 48 hours, so I had her do that. The PCP’s office bungled the whole thing as usual, insisting Elizabeth needed a virtual appointment with the PCP even though Elizabeth explained she was away at school and also didn’t need an appointment, and then calling back to scold her for trying to get away with making a virtual appointment when she was not in the state. So we will see how this shakes out, insurance-wise. My understanding is that ER visits are covered even if they are outside the coverage area, but we’ve never had to test it before, so I don’t know how many hoops there will be.
My first thought upon seeing that you had a new post was “Yay!” which did not stay Yay for long.
Elizabeth is really getting quite the introduction to independent living, and I’m all for life lessons, but maybe the universe could space them out just a little?
Oh Swistle! What an ordeal! How stressful to deal with from afar – yes yes, Life Experience BUT STILL. Glad it all ended well but maybe the universe could cut her a break for a while now?
Oh my goodness, Swistle. What a stressful couple of weeks. I’m so glad she’s ok, but I’m sorry you’ve all had to deal with this stress!
Oh, my. So glad she had an Epipen! She is certainly starting off with a bang; here’s hoping her life events will be less terrifying going forward.
One tip for Uber usage: my young adult daughters call me or their dad or another reliable person any time they are alone in an Uber/Lyft and we talk until they get to their destination. I am not 100% sure that my Magical Mom Powers keep them safe from predatory drivers but it has worked so far.
there is also an option on Uber to notify someone when you are in an Uber. I believe it sends the specific Uber information. I used this just once when I needed to take an uber very late at night in an unfamiliar city. I added my son.
Oh, Swistle! That was a ride. You’ve got yourself a capable daughter there! Yay! Too bad the PCP’s office isn’t nearly as capable. Holy bovine.
Goodness, what a rough start to college Elizabeth has had. I’m glad she’s okay and hope things calm down for her sake and yours.
How scary that is. I’m so impressed by how well Elizabeth handled it all, and also impressed by you not hopping into a car immediately to get to her. Glad she had her Epipen with her. She needs a new one, yes?
XOXOXOXO.
Oh I am so sorry to hear about all this. So glad Elizabeth is OK and also, impressed by her competence — kudos to you for raising such a capable and independent young person.
I feel like maybe you should order a box of See’s Chocolates (or something) for each of her and you?
Oooof I would have been a wreck too. This is hard!
Paul going to sleep while you were still up reminded me…C was in a fairly minor fender bender leaving a concert before she left for school. It was late and dark, and she called us immediately. We talked her through everything, helped her deal with the police, made sure car was able to be driven etc etc. ANYWAY, as soon as E knew she was safely on her way home, he rolled over in bed and passed out. Me? I waited and watched Life360 until she arrived home safely AND THEN was up for 2 more hours letting all the adrenaline wear off.
The same thing (accidentally ingested something to which I am quite allergic) in my first year at university, although to be fair not the first month!
In my case it was aspirin, which I took from a friend without checking for the first (and hopefully last) time ever. But because I called my mother at 10pm from the hospital she remained convinced for years that I’d taken some kind of party drug and would not be told otherwise…
The really good news is that Elizabeth now knows exactly what to do if anything like this ever happens again. And that genuinely IS good news because that’s how she morphs into the kind of adult you aren’t worried for 24/7 – it sounds like she handled it all so well! But it must be so hard being far away when crises occur.
Do we have the same mother? You’d think at some point she’d give up the party drug idea, no? But mine absolutely would continually bring it up FOREVER. And THATS WHY I DONT TELL HER THINGS!!!!
Ahem.
That’s so funny! What do they think their daughters DO while away from home?!
I am enraged at both of your mothers.
My kids also have food allergies and both have Epi pens at school. They are much younger, but these scenarios of how reactions will play out when I am not there are scary. So I truly feel for you. The thing happened that you’ve been dreading happening, most likely since you started managing her food allergies. I am so sorry. It’s awful and really was not how anyone imagined the first week of college going. HUGS to you and Elizabeth. She got through it. She was brave and she learned a bunch of new skills. She left the nest and she’s flying. She and YOU are doing hard things. <3
Yes! My daughters both have food allergies as well, and the oldest leaves for college next year, and this is a scenario I have been dreading since she was diagnosed as a toddler. It is so hard and scary, but it sounds like she handled it well. Now hoping for a very boring remainder of the school year with no new health issues/challenges!
I am there with you on this! 2nd daughter did this twice last year, once to an allergen she was only slightly allergic to, ate a ton of, and then was on the phone with me asking if she should go to the ER or not – just go! And both times she didn’t want to call the ambulance so she figured out a different way to get to the hospital. However, we thing she has a handle on it now, knows what to avoid and how to respond. Parenting is just so darn hard.
How stressful! I am super impressed by Elizabeth – figuring out who to talk to about the Epipen, knowing that she needed to go the the ER, and getting there! Hope everything is uneventful for a while.
My daughter badly sprained her ankle at college this fall, and we had to figure out the ER, the orthopedist, crutches and a boot, a temporary ground floor room (instead of her fourth-floor-no-elevator one), physical therapy, a brace, and insurance that has not one single provider in the state where she attends college.
We are all learning things!
I hope Elizabeth is well and that Edward has had a good start to classes, too.
Oh my stars, so glad she’s ok! Good gravy!
It’s stressful, but you can be proud of how she handled it all! My niece went to university 3.5 hours from home last year, and I think there were maybe 6 weekends out of the entire 8 months that she didn’t see her mother – either my niece went home, or my sister in-law came here, and when she got a cold she was whisked home for a full week. I think it’s really admirable how Elizabeth got everything sorted, and still kept you in the loop.
Oh wow, what an intense and dramatic start to college. So glad Elizabeth is ok. Has to be hard so hard on you to have her so far away right now.
Well!! It has been quite the month for New Life Experiences! She has navigated them quite well.
It’s interesting that she didn’t already have Uber on her phone? I’m guessing because you live in a small town/rural-ish area where it isn’t really used?
I’m so glad we’re getting this story knowing that everything is fine, but I can imagine it was so difficult to be far away in that scenario. Harper also had Covid, not the very first week but the second and it is not hard to imagine that I’ll be getting the same allergic reaction call at some point… It sounds like Elizabeth handled everything so well and I hope she gets a break now – maybe for the next four years?
That is all an anxiety fever dream. BUT you did it. You’ve all been training for this. Something happened, and you all handled it in exactly the way it should be handled. YAY SWISTLE FAM!
Wow!! I’m so glad she’s OK, that’s a little too much excitement!
For anyone with older teens, Uber has a family account plan where you can add a teen & have the parent’s cc in the profile so your teen can use Uber. I set it up for my 16yo because even though he drives, I want him to have a back-up if his vehicle breaks down, or he ingests something illegal. I have told him in no uncertain terms that he can use Uber or call us for a ride (using Uber is more likely) and leave his vehicle behind and he will not get in trouble.