Sickness at EHS

story by Bree Moore

It’s that time of year again when the tissues come out and medicine never seems to leave anyone’s bedside table. Now is when everyone starts the long winter battle against headaches, fever and sickness that everyone gets from school. It’s the time of year that many dread.

Paisley Labelle, Jr., had mononucleosis for two months before she finally realized what it was. Throughout her sickness Labelle wasn’t eating enough, putting enough fluids in her body, or getting enough sleep. Her body after a while felt weak, to the point where if she stood up for more than five minutes she would get dizzy, which was hard for her because she was constantly tired. Along the train wreck of Labelle’s experience she had to take a trip to the hospital because her kidneys hurt and she had developed a swollen spleen. She has since recovered and is slowly getting healthier.

Ashley Fox, Soph., contracted bronchitis for a whole week. Fox just couldn’t seem to fight it off. It started because of how overworked Fox felt and at first the virus reared its head by giving her a horrible cough. Fox felt weak and tired for those five days, but she didn’t want to give up. She rested, took medicine, and soon was back on her feet and ready to be back to normal.

“It helped me sit to sit back, rest and heal. There was a lot of homework to make up, but I’m feeling much better now – and was really happy to see my friends and got to perform in the musical,” said Fox.

Mrs.Young, our school nurse, has witnessed it all here at EHS. Mrs. Young sees around 20 students a day in her office who don’t feel well. This is the time of year where she sees students with the flu or upper respiratory system problems. In the spring, it’s the allergies.

“Dealing with the sickness is not necessarily hard or stressful,” Young says.“The health office can get a little crazy you might say at times and we have to prioritize who we see first depending on the illness/injury. The whole office works as a team, though, along with the teachers and paras. If the health office is busy or there is an emergency all we have to do is ask for help and at times they arrive without asking.”