Dear Editor:
Here is the account of my two and half hours of quarantine in Lalande 111. On Monday afternoon I was diagnosed with H1N1 and immediately called my parents to pick me up, but in the mean time, I was put in LaLande 111. The drive from Scranton. Pa., to Fordham is about two to three hours depending on traffic, so I didn't anticipate being stuck in quarantine for very long.
Security brought me from the Health Center to the LaLande entrance, where I was greeted by Amy Harper and by greeted, I mean she could not get away from me faster, not that I blame her. She led me to the apartment, opened the door and said, "There is a bed made in the other room" and then shut the door. I went into the other room to find a bed, made without a pillow. There were a set of bunk beds in another room with the only pillow, but it looked like someone had slept in it, so I was not going to use that pillow. I then went in search of water, but was surprised that I was not provided water despite the Health Center's recommendation to drink plenty of fluids. I had a 101-degree fever while in the Health Center and wanted some Tylenol, so I called Residential Life, since I assumed I was their responsibility. I called Residential Life at about 4:30 p.m. and told them that I was the student quarantined in LaLande 111 and wanted a clean pillow, water and some Tylenol for my fever. After the person laughed at me on the phone, she told me she would put in the request.
About 15 to 20 minutes later, someone showed up from Residential Life and handed me a pillow, some towels and water. I asked where the medicine was and he told me that "they could not find me any Tylenol." About an hour later, I received antiviral medicine from the Health Center and couldn't understand why Residential Life did not contact the Health Center to bring me medicine to reduce my fever and body aches. Is it ridiculous to think that Residential Life could pick up the phone and ask health services to send me some fever reducing medicine? Most people keep Advil or Tylenol in their desk at work, so they could not even find some in the Residential Life office.
When my parents arrived I had them come in with a note pad to write down all the things that were missing in the room. There was no trash can, tissues, soap, Purell or telephone.
What about the students who can't go home and are stuck there overnight, or for a few nights? Will these students be offered food, water, soap and shampoo, a TV or books? Who will check on them during the night? I am convinced Residential Life is not prepared.
If you don't want to publish this story in The Ram, then I will just tell Greer Jason how angry I am at the Student Life Committee meeting next week.
I would also love to know Dean Rodger's "official" swine flu count. I know of three people who have been sent home because of H1N1. In the health center, I tested positive for Influenza A, which the nurse practitioner told me is H1N1 99 percent of the time.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Ian Gaylets, CBA '10
They brought me wonderful big bags of food and drink, huge meals, at meal-times.... sometimes. They were great about it except nothing for lunch Saturday or Sunday. I guess this was because they figured that all I need is the breakfast they delivered the night before, and then dinner, because it's a weekend? But it is no ordinary weekend. I am stuck in this room. I am not going out and ordering food and staying up late and sleeping till 2pm. I would have loved some lunch. Besides bringing food at some points, no one checked on me at all. I was given numbers to call for assistance for different things. When I called the RHO to ask for lunch, I got an answering machine. I was also told to call the health center when my condition worsened or improved. When I called the health center to say that my fever was gone despite not being on medicine, and that I wanted to alert them that I was starting my 24hour countdown of fever-freeness, I was told "when your fever has been gone for 24 hours, then we'll talk." Over the past 4 days, two people have come in for 2 hours each in situations like Ian's where they were being picked up. I had already taken the bed in the other room, so the first one took the closest bunk bed (which had been made) to rest on as he waited. He was given no food or water so I shared mine. After he left, no one came in to change or clean the sheets. A couple days later, the second person came. He ended up sitting to rest on the same bunkbed, which still hadn't been changed or disinfected. He also wasn't fed, so I shared some of my breakfast that I had been given the previous night with him. It strikes me as a little bit odd also, the lack of care, although I can't say that I'm really complaining that I don't have ResLife or the health center bumbling over me as I really just want to sleep and call a couple of my friends and family.