Sick Child

For parents worried about a child sick with the flu, deciding when to head to the emergency room can be difficult. Unlike the typical seasonal flu, which is generally most dangerous to infants and the elderly, the H1N1 strain has hit children, teenagers and young adults unusually hard and with little warning. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated earlier this month that more children have died from the H1N1 flu than people over 65, about 540 children as of mid-October compared to 440 seniors.

The joy of having a baby quickly morphed into logistical panic when Devorah Gartner learned her newborn had suffered a prenatal stroke and needed daily physical therapy. So the computer software manager asked her employer for a month's leave to care for her daughter. The answer was no, which meant Gartner had to quit her job to care for her child. She lost her health insurance and spiraled into debt. This is not an individual tragedy, writes Sharon Lerner in "The War on Moms: On Life in a Family-Unfriendly Nation," but a national fiasco.

For a parent home with a sick child, the top priority is to dab lotion on that itchy chickenpox rash, hand out tissues for the sniffles or serve lots of juice to fight those flu germs. But what about all that missed schoolwork? Few teachers expect kids to complete all of their missed assignments. And most say they are willing to adapt the work for the child's situation. But parents must take some responsibility for making the arrangements. "It's a two-way street," said Alice B.

Since the Academy takes no account of sex in designating best art direction or best editing, the question comes up every year: Why differentiate between actor and actress in awarding Oscars? But there is more to the linguistic distinction between "actress" and "actor" than mere sexism or stereotyping, as can be seen in the following thought experiment. Imagine two scenarios: In the first, it's late at night and you phone a medical clinic to request a house call for your sick child.

Kudos to Rick Fox, an athlete who actually seems to have his priorities straight. Fox made the decision to be with his wife when she gave birth and risked missing participating in a playoff game. Seems the logical thing to do to 99% of the population, but I know there have been plenty of athletes who have not gone to be with a dying parent, a sick child or a pregnant wife, all in the name of trying to win a "big" game. Fox is my MVP for this series, win or lose. His baby is going to have a very special father.

A 37-year-old woman who deserted from the Army in 1999 has been given an administrative discharge, officials said Saturday. Giselle Flynn, a local bus driver, was arrested Feb. 14 on a desertion warrant and jailed for several days before being sent to Ft. Sill, Okla. Her attorney, Jeremiah Sullivan, said Army officials agreed to expedite the paperwork so she could return to her family. Flynn came home in 1999 to be with a sick child. After going AWOL, she tried twice to turn herself in to Navy officials in San Diego but was rebuffed.

Pediatric nurse Gail Gonzales says that at least half a dozen mornings a year, working parents wake up to the dreaded words: "Mommy, I don't feel good. . . ." Suddenly, what might have been a carefully mapped-out day is shattered by desperate calls to sitters, grandmothers or neighbors, the dreary prospect of lost wages or missed meetings, calling in "sick" to an annoyed boss, expensive medical bills and even resentment toward the sick child.

Working parents who have struggled for years to find child care will be delighted to know that politicians (and editors!) have finally discovered this crisis. While the demand for care certainly exceeds the supply, it is not always due to a shortage of willing, qualified providers. As a registered nurse and a working parent I had many times faced the dilemma of what to do with a sick child. I tried for two years to open a center for mildly ill children in Ventura County. Denied a conventional loan and unable to interest local employers--including hospitals--in a joint venture, I turned to the City Council.

It's 7 a.m., you're rushing to get ready for work, and your child says he is too sick to go to school. Is he really sick, or just nervous about a geography test coming up that day? In some cases, the diagnosis is obvious, pediatricians say, and it is clear the child should be kept home. Often, however, symptoms may be more subtle and parents have a tough decision to make.

In her second novel, "Other Women's Children," Dr. Perri Klass, a pediatrician as well as the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, has written an engaging narrative in which her protagonist, Dr. Amelia Stern, also a pediatrician, struggles among the demands of a career, a child and a marriage. Truly a woman of the '90s, Amelia is a juggler, and one who does not lack humor, even in the face of the gravest prognosis.

For parents worried about a child sick with the flu, deciding when to head to the emergency room can be difficult. Unlike the typical seasonal flu, which is generally most dangerous to infants and the elderly, the H1N1 strain has hit children, teenagers and young adults unusually hard and with little warning. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated earlier this month that more children have died from the H1N1 flu than people over 65, about 540 children as of mid-October compared to 440 seniors.

A 37-year-old woman who deserted from the Army in 1999 has been given an administrative discharge, officials said Saturday. Giselle Flynn, a local bus driver, was arrested Feb. 14 on a desertion warrant and jailed for several days before being sent to Ft. Sill, Okla. Her attorney, Jeremiah Sullivan, said Army officials agreed to expedite the paperwork so she could return to her family. Flynn came home in 1999 to be with a sick child. After going AWOL, she tried twice to turn herself in to Navy officials in San Diego but was rebuffed.

We've got Thanksgiving this week, but no big deal, I give thanks every day of my life that I don't live in Angryville. I spend most days giving thanks. Thanks to the wife and daughter, for example, who will pack pillows on our five-hour drive to Arizona today, which will encourage them to fall asleep. Thanks for peace and quiet. I give thanks Hometown Buffet will be open to serve dinner Thursday knowing the other daughter will be trying to cook a turkey for the first time.

Single and unemployed, Stephanie Collopy asked a Portland judge this month to order her son's father to increase her child support and to add their chronically ill boy to his health insurance plan. Sitting on the witness stand in a white button-down shirt, gray slacks and blue blazer with a small gold cross on the lapel, Arturo Uribe -- the 12-year-old boy's father -- had an unusual defense: He is a Roman Catholic priest.

Meg Crisp knew she and her husband had a problem when their feverish youngest daughter climbed into bed with them. Crisp could tell 7-year-old Leslie wouldn't be able to go to school in the morning. But Crisp, director of administration at Arthur Andersen, the consulting firm, and her husband, a public relations executive, both faced important meetings that would make it difficult for them to stay home with Leslie.

A former employee of a Camarillo Target store is suing the discount chain, saying she was wrongly fired for taking a week off to care for her sick baby. Angela Lee, 22, alleges that Target Corp. has a "policy and practice" of discriminating against female employees who are pregnant, have recently given birth or take time off to care for ill children.

Since the Academy takes no account of sex in designating best art direction or best editing, the question comes up every year: Why differentiate between actor and actress in awarding Oscars? But there is more to the linguistic distinction between "actress" and "actor" than mere sexism or stereotyping, as can be seen in the following thought experiment. Imagine two scenarios: In the first, it's late at night and you phone a medical clinic to request a house call for your sick child.

Kudos to Rick Fox, an athlete who actually seems to have his priorities straight. Fox made the decision to be with his wife when she gave birth and risked missing participating in a playoff game. Seems the logical thing to do to 99% of the population, but I know there have been plenty of athletes who have not gone to be with a dying parent, a sick child or a pregnant wife, all in the name of trying to win a "big" game. Fox is my MVP for this series, win or lose. His baby is going to have a very special father.