Blue Hen Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 DH travels off and on for business. On Friday he called at 7am to tell me he was really sick and that he just wanted someone to know that he was really sick. Scary. DH never, ever gets sick. He told me later that he actually considered calling 911 after getting off the phone with me. He was really sick and I got that message too while listening to him. Long story short he had a stomach flu but as I listened to him vomiting over the phone I wanted nothing more than to get there fast to help him. But how could I help him while I had at least a 6 hr drive before I would be there? And would DH really want me to drive out there or tell me I was being overly concerned? Next I did something that he thanked me for later --I called the hotel and asked them to check on him and bring him liquids. They checked on him every hour and called me with updates. I talked with DH several times during the morning and he urged me to stay home. When he was still feeling quite awful at noon my oldest son said outloud what I was thinking---we needed to drive out there and bring him home since he might be too weak to drive himself. DS would drive DH car and I would drive the car we drove out in. Six hours later we were with DH who was still feeling sick, dizzy, light-headed and weak. The next day we drove him home. Today my sister asked me what I would do if this happens next year when DS is off at college and our youngest isn't old enough to drive? Come to think of it, thinking about what we would do if DH got really sick while out on a business trip just never crossed our mind's before. I don't have family that I could turn to to help out and friends are all either busy working or are hs moms with either kids they couldn't leave or have a DH that wouldn't permit them to drive anywhere. What would you do? Have you been in my shoes before and what did you do? Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Knowing what I know now, if my child were calling from college that extremely sick for more than a day or two, I would drive up. I can't tell you the really awful stories I know about kids getting sick in college and getting poor medical care from local hospitals who are used to seeing lots of sick kids, some who drank themselves sick. Two years ago, my son's girlfriend's appendix burst after he had taken her TWICE to the emergency room. So while I have never been one to panic about medical things, if my son were really sick like that, I would drive up. He's less than three hours from here. On the other hand, if I were sick 6 hours from home on business, I probably would stay put unless my symptoms were truly dangerous. I would consider it a GOOD thing that I wasn't with my family giving them the flu. I think it depends on how sick the person is. I personally worry about meningitis the most. If I were able to accurately report that my fever was not out of control and I was able to keep some fluids down after 24 hours, I would probably park it in the hotel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 If that happened to me and I didn't have a son to accompany me, I would try to recruit an adult friend and offer to pay any expenses that were incurred (meals, possible hotel room, etc). Many years ago DH was out on the road and had an attack of appendicitis. He was 3 hours away and thank the Lord he was traveling with an associate. This man took him to the local ER. He got a shot for the pain and the friend drove him home. They arrived home in the middle of the night, I took DH to the ER and he had an emergency appendectomy (followed by a case of peritonitis afterwards). The following week a trainee from his office rode out with another guy from the office and drove DH's car back. I cannot even let my mind go to the place where DH would have been sick in a hotel room with a ruptured appendix. It is good to know that 911 is just a call away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritsumei Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Huh. We've never talked about that either, and DH travels All.The.Time. Though not usually over night. I think if he was 6 hours away I'd probably look for the numbers to the church in that area and see if someone could go visit him or what have you. But other than that... scary. I'm going to have to talk with him about this. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 We've never thought about it. My dh often travels overseas and if he got sick on one of those trips, he'd just have to wait it out there and fly home when he had recovered. If he got sick while here in the UK, I'm sure I could find someone from our church to drive up with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Rittenhouse Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That's what the front desk is for. People, who travel, get sick from time to time. The front desk has seen it all and most can help you get basic help or support you while you stay put in your hotel room. It is no fun being sick away from home, but folks will help. Many hotels will have an on call doctor, who can be reached to assess you if you cannot leave your room. Also, if on business, your company should be able to help...rearrange travel, extend stays....reposition folks to cover meeting you cannot attend. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and ask. I can tell you the trouble involved in getting help for a sick hotel guest is far far less, than the paperwork involved with having a dead hotel guest. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Well now I'm wondering if I'm really cold hearted. :001_unsure: Dh has gotten sick while traveling. I've gotten sick while he's been traveling. We just deal with it. Now, hospital-worthy illness would be a whole other story, which would involve getting a hold of relatives 1-2 hours away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgm Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Dh would let his host know that he was too ill to come in to work. His company has a procedure to follow and the HR dept (either at his home office or at his host's site) would help him find the nearest hospital or urgent care if the host wasn't immediately available to assist or he was in transit. College dorm students need to let the RA know. All others would do as any adult would do. It is very good idea for college students to have taken First Aid and be certified in CPR before attending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 If you had no one to help with the drive back and you felt compelled to go to him, I would imagine that you would simply stay with him at the hotel until he was able to drive back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 My dh travels A LOT, and we've talked about this. We are fortunate enough to have family that could help. But if we didn't, you could always rent a car to go pick him up, then you wouldn't have to have two people to drive vehicles back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 DH only travels about twice a year. Both times he usually flies to some place that is not within driving distance. One time it is usually the UK. He would just have to wait it out in the hotel room. I never thought of calling the hotel and asking them to check on him. Great idea! I'll file that away in my mind for future reference, should I ever need it. There's no way I could fly to get him. For one, I do not fly. For two, it would cost a lot of money. And for three, if he was in the UK I would not even be allowed to go since I do not have a passport. I'd definitely call and check on him a lot though. I'd try to give him some instructions, but he probably would not listen to them LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 My dh doesn't travel out of town on a regular basis. He's a carpenter and drives all over town and when he has multiple jobs going I'm never sure where he is working at a certain time. Earlier this year he stopped to get coffee, had a seizure in the store, fell, hit his head on the tile floor, and passed out. Thankfully he had a co-worker with him. While they called the ambulance his co-worker (not tech savvy) had to figure out dh's phone and ended up calling his mother first to find my phone number. So now we make sure he has me listed as ICE (In case of emergency) in his phone, he is on mine, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 My dh travels frequently, and 99% of it is by plane. I'm not going to get him. One can use the resources available, such as the front desk or concierge if you need something from outside (meds) that you can't get yourself. A person too ill to travel needs to stay until they are well enough to travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neveryoumindthere Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hmm. I never thought to ask front desk for assistance either. So glad I read this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 My husband travels and has even been briefly hospitalized while he was away but he's always been near a military post and had someone with him. It was never close enough that I could drive to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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