Although freshman Asher Gurr felt his head getting warmer, he was determined to make it through his first day of high school. After attending cross-country practice, the all-school assembly and several classes, he left school early. Little did he know that he was approaching a 104-degree fever.
“My chills made it feel like I was at the top of Mount Everest,” Gurr said. “It might have been one of the worst school experiences I’ve ever had.”
Gurr is one of the many plagued by the flu within the first fortnight of classes. In the Upper School alone, absences have surged nearly eight-fold. On the first Friday of school last year, there was one absence compared to 24 this year, according to Michelle Woo at the Upper School Parents Desk.
As the flu spread across campus, there were 271 Upper School absences for the week compared to 35 last year during the same period.
The first patient, known as the index patient, attended the freshman retreat, Aug.14-16. The outbreak spread beyond the freshmen class to senior counselors and athletes, eventually making its way to Claremont Lane.
Senior Kori Hagins watched the events unfold firsthand. Shortly after the freshman retreat started, her co-counselor registered a 103-degree fever. “I started seeing people getting sick on the retreat, but I didn’t think it would turn out to be this big,” Hagins said.
Hagins is especially concerned because she lives with her immunocompromised 95-year-old great-grandmother. “I can’t bring anything home,” she said.
To anyone who still wants to attend classes while feeling unwell, Hagins has one message: “If you’re sick, please don’t come to school.”
Director of Clinical Services Colleen Kimball has been kept busy. Kimball usually has 20 to 30 visitors to the clinic per day, but over the past week, she has seen 40 to 75 students a day and burned through 125 flu tests.
“In my 18 years of school nursing, I have never seen this much illness at the start of the school year,” Kimball said.
Kimball attributes the number of illnesses to the unwillingness of some students to stay home, which leads to potentially dangerous relapses and exposes others to the virus. Many students intentionally ignore the warning signs of an impending illness due to the stress associated with missing school.
Senior Claire Adkins contracted the flu and chose to stay home. Even though she only missed one day of school, she was still concerned about how she would complete her makeup work.
“I only attended one history class before I got sick,” Adkins said. “I definitely felt a little behind.”
Upper School Academic Dean Jennifer Kuhl stresses that students should not jeopardize their health or the health of others just because they are worried about missing schoolwork. She advises that students stay home, email her or their teachers and create an academic plan if they miss more than two days.
“We want you to make it back to us faster,” Kuhl said. “Taking care of yourself is the most important thing.”
For those who avoided the flu in this current wave, flu shots are available on campus on Sept. 18.
