Good-hearted people

When your daughter is injured far from home, she really learns who her friends are. And you as a parent learn how good your daughter is at choosing her friends.

Daughter Two elected to go sledding on her elbow recently, with predictable results. While Mary and I frantically waited to hear the official medical pronouncements about the injury and prognosis, we didn’t know about the maelstrom of activity surrounding her. I thought I’d share it here.

Two’s roommate Tobi did everything a parent might have done and more. She rode in the ambulance with her, stayed with her during the whole ER experience, took her back to their room and made sure she had everything she needed.

Speaking of the ambulance, did I mention this is an entirely student-operated ambulance service? They sized things up, immobilized the joint, and transported her like any other group of professionals.

Back to Tobi, who helped Two move all her stuff across campus to the hotel room where I would arrive late the night before surgery to help see her through the ordeal of the first few days post-op.

Two’s sorority sisters and other friends made her feel cared about throughout. One in particular – Hannah B – visited more than once and came prepared to work. She helped Two dress, figured out the bandage cover that worked splendidly for the shower (mine for a later shower, ahem, not so much), and let me get out of the room for a half hour to walk down to the river – my first break in two days, and precisely what a worried dad needed at that point in time.

Then there was the young lady in the dorm who organized an activity for later in the week centered on things Two can do with her clown-sized arm getting in the way.And the prof who cut her some slack. And the Dean who checked up on her.

And of course, there were all the well-wishers who made us feel their caring from remote locations.

I guess a broken  elbow isn’t such a big deal in the grand scheme. But it was big to my daughter. And what folks did is maybe just what friends do. But it was big to us.

Various people in various ways stepped up and made my daughter feel valued and cared about. Yeah, that’s a big deal.

Thank you.