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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Regardless of the age, every person in the ER who is sick needs a patient advocate.  When you are sick and exhausted you just aren’t in the best state of mind to navigate the system.  Mistakes happen all the time even with an excellent medical team - they are just overwhelmed.  [/quote]

100%. 
Also, as a parent whose college DC has just been through similar, suggest to your DC that they request to be tested for Mono. That’s what it was in her case.[/quote]

Ditto this.  Mono is very common in college and an extremely swollen throat is a sign.  Kid should have been swabbed at the clinic or ER for strep, covid, flu, RSV and mono.

If it's mono, he will feel exhausted and it's gonna stick around, so I would check in with him daily, and if the long strep comes back negative, encourage him to go back to the clinic and ask to be tested for mono.  FYI, there's no medication for mono, so it's not like the failure to diagnose right away is going to have a negative impact.

Now is the time to mentor him for adult heath skills - does he know how to check the school health portal and Hosp portal for results. He may have to sign up for portals. If labs are not in clinic or hosp portal yet, were they sent to an outside lab like Labcorp - has he set up a portal there?

Does he know how to check the clinical record at the hospital?  What you remember when you're sick and what the doctor documents he did or told you can sometimes be very different. Ask him specifically to go back to this record and see what he was tested for and what kind of IV he was given. He can also see heart rate, BP, physical exam notes (were his lymph nodes really swollen, did anyone palpate his spleen - this can tell you clinically about the possibility of mono).

Also, consider this a dry run for you as parents in case something more serious ever happens.   Does he have a living will? does he have a signed healthcare power of attorney and a form signed saying you can contact his school and get/give information about him in an emergency? has he shared his user/password for his bank account, doctor portals and any other critical accounts?  Do you know the names and cell #s of his roommates or a close friend? Who would you get in touch with if he were too ill to help himself?  Did you know school policies about withdrawal and tuition refund?  Have you ever looked at tuition insurance?

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