Dads — and teddy bears — on alert

• Rebecca Ray

Rebecca Ray, a UND sophomore from California, with her masked teddy bear "Rusty". Ray sent her father Louis a picture of "Rusty" with his mask to reassure him she was taking precautions against the H1N1 flu, Herald photo by John Stennes.

Talk about it

As the H1N1 flu scare took hold, Rebecca Ray, a 19-year-old UND student from California, knew her dad was concerned about her and her brother, Joshua, 21, also a student at UND.

So Rebecca sent her father, at home in Yucaipa, Calif., a text message.

“She has a little teddy bear named Rusty,” Louis Ray said. “She told me that Rusty has a mask on now, so he’s ‘ready for the swine,’ as in swine flu.”

Rebecca has managed to avoid the flu so far, though her residence hall roommate “was really sick-sick” and went home to Apple Valley, Minn., for several days.

Her text message, with a photo of a masked-and-ready Rusty, helped to reassure her dad, who is a school building inspector for the state of California.

“I had parents who were very distant from me,” he said. “I sometimes make up for that with my children. I want them to know I’m there for them — especially with them being 1,900 miles from home.”

Rebecca said that she might have rolled her eyes at her parent’s concern years ago.

“My dad’s always been like that,” she said. “He’s protective, checking up on me, wanting to know what’s going on.

“When I was younger, I’d maybe say something like ‘What the heck, Dad?’ But it doesn’t feel like he’s intruding now. He’s just being dad.”

Lillian Elsinga, associate vice president and dean of students at UND, said that the student health office “has been very, very busy,” but her office hasn’t been swamped with calls or e-mails from distant parents, anxious as flu season unfolds.

“I think it’s very common, though, that parents and their students talk about these things, like the parties they go to — is that a safe thing, with the flu going around,” Elsinga said.

“I think students see their parents as their best advisers,” and with cell phones and e-mail, “many of them are having daily or even hourly conversations with their families.

“I don’t think many of them see it as intrusive,” she said. “It’s a nice partnership.”

A parent who does call is referred to the student health Web site — www.undstudenthealth.com/ — which provides information on the current campus situation, preventive steps the university is taking and ways students can monitor and safeguard their own health.

In August and September, UND Student Health Services saw 111 students with influenza-like symptoms and took 81 phone calls about possible flu cases. In the first 23 days of October through Friday, student health had seen 370 students and received 239 phone calls for influenza-like illness.

A little concerned

Joshua Ray is on a baseball scholarship at UND. Rebecca, who runs track, is here in part because Joshua is here.

“He’s my best friend,” she said. “I know that if I have a family someday, I’ll want to live near him.”

“They’re inseparable,” their father said. “They are as close as a brother and sister can be. And we’re very close to our children. We’ve followed them in sports since they were little guys, and this is the first time they’ve been away from us like this.

“My daughter relays messages to her mom that a lot of kids are sick, and that has me wondering about things like vaccine, or if UND would be closing.

“I’ve been a little concerned about the kiddos. It seems like swine flu has hit harder back there than here.”

He said he and his wife, Murelyn, “were very pleasantly surprised by the campus in Grand Forks” when they visited in August.

“People were friendly,” he said. “The track and baseball coaches gave us tours, and the kids we met were all ‘Yes, sir’ ‘No, sir’ types.

“Other than the distance, we’re elated for them to be there.”

Elsinga said that coaches have met the parents of many of their student athletes, “and they do an excellent job of monitoring situations like this. … If there’s a need for assistance, they’d be the first to make that call.”

Vitamins, water

Rebecca Ray said that she may have alarmed her folks with messages about her roommate getting sick, a residence hall assistant providing sanitizing wipes to clean their room and shared surfaces, and some of her classes nearly emptying out in recent days.

“Today, there were only six students in one class, and normally there are about 30,” she said. “A lot of kids are getting sick. And some are still coming to class, even though the teachers complain and say they shouldn’t.

“I take vitamins like no other, so I’m pretty sure I won’t get it,” she said. “I exercise daily, and I drink water like a camel. I think it’s good to stay active.”

Plus, Rusty has been wearing his mask, and Dad is on alert.

Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send e-mail to chaga@gfherald.com.

Tags: local news, h1n1 flu, swine flu, gf and egf, h1n1, influenza, health, und