Life lessons…
As we currently look at colleges for our daughter, a lesson learned blares at us. I share this in hopes that you will never need it and I have been known to repeat it. 🙂 While considering college for our first born child we looked at field of study, costs, distance, ranking, scholarships offered, etc. Letting our young bird out of the nest was painful, little did we know. We gave our best to think of all that would help him make the “right” choice. We prayed he would learn, grow, live fully, learn who he would serve in this life, all as he moved to a new town. We glanced at how far medical care was from the school, just in case! Thankful that the hospital was a short couple of blocks away, gave reassurance to us as parents.
Lesson: We never looked to see if there was a trauma center or what level it would be in this town. We never would have known to ask how far away an ambulance had to come from to get to him if need be. What would happen if our child was hurt so badly that he needed transport to a higher tier of care? What level of care was even in the town? I do not believe the average parent thinks of these things when they are looking at a college or university. Note: you should.
If a helicopter has to come to transport your injured child, how far away is it and how long will the clock be ticking before they even arrive? How long would it take for the ambulance to get across town to help your child? Who even knows how much it costs to airlift someone in a helicopter? Does it matter? Would the cost of this make college look inexpensive?
There are three levels of Trauma Centers IF there is one at all. Level 1 is the best, 24 hour staffing for most all emergencies/surgeries and it goes down from there. Due to loss, we as parents now look for colleges on a different level. College visits do not exactly cover these details. If I could have a “do over” I would change three things.
- Check out the level of emergency care in town and pray you never need it.
- Have a will made out for ANY single adult over the age of 18 in your family. (Executor of estate makes decisions and can have access to information. If not, you must wait until you receive a certificate of death, (which can take months) and pay to set up an estate before you can move forward with most anything.
- Know your insurance and make sure you have it for your children no matter their age.
Click on Trauma Centers to see what is nearest to you from traumacenters.org. You can also look at the hospital levels in each state by town. Please look, just to be informed. It is NOT just about the university, it is about the town.
What is learned should be shared.
Peace & Blessings, MamaC
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it. Ecclesiastes 7:12
Photo: Connor – Freshman orientation day June 2014.
