Calling all Chicago DISers #2

[DonnaW]

Kirsten...wonderful, wonderful news! I *know* you must be so relieved!

Bunchkin...yes, Chris & Mike live in or close to DeKalb, and Mike works at Northern & I think Chris does, too. I heard that they are both fine, thankfully!!! What a senseless tragedy!

 

[Donald's Shrink]

piglet too - Glad to hear your mom's surgery went well.


Yesterday the NIU campus was pretty quiet. Most of the students have gone home. The students who remained were spending time with friends and family and not many people were seeking counseling yet.

Since our clinic deals more with treating psychopathology and mental illness as opposed to providing traditional counseling, it looks like the role of our clinic will be to deal with the aftermath weeks, months, years down the road for individuals who develop depression, anxiety, or PTSD related to this terrible event.

In the meantime NIU is bringing in experts in the field of crisis intervention from all over the country. They will be working with the NIU Counseling Center to provide grief counseling to those who need. It is predicted we will start seeing students seek out counseling sometime next week as more people return to campus. With that said, I did receive a crash course in crisis intervention yesterday so that I can help out if I am needed.

 

[HERSEY]

Donald's Shrink It's truly amazing how a few minutes can affect your life forever. How are you doing? Sometimes close calls are even more disturbing.


Is everyone ready for round 1,000,000 with Mr crabby old man winter? I for one would like him to get some sleep and leave us alone.

Maybe if we stand up together and say we had enough?

 

[slo]

I'm so tired this morning!!!!


Thanks for all your continued kind words for Katie. She's a pinch better, but not 100% at all. I'm not worried, because her fever is very controlled, I'm just tired of it. Hopefully today she'll be better yet (fingers crossed).


DS - I"m so glad to hear that you, and everyone you know is safe I will continue to keep all the families that lost a loved on in my thoughts and prayers.

Donna - I'm jealous of Kevin being in Florida too - he called and said that it was 75 and sunny - that made me even more jealous

Becky - I hope your tongue is doing better today.
*I've never been to WDW at Spring break, so I"m not sure how it is. I have heard from others though, that it is quite busy.

Bunchkin - How are you feeling today? I'm sorry you were feeling worse yesterday I'll send a ton more of get well PD your way to feel better soon

piglet - What great news about your mom!!!!! Please keep us updated on how she is doing - we are always here for you!!!!! I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope she'll get well soon

To everyone else -



Well, I'm off to get ready for work - I'm so wishing today was Sunday, I don't feel like going out.

Have a good day!!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Anyone be in Disney World in 2 weeks?????


I WILL BE!!!!! hahah! I got an AWESOME wholesale order in my shop, so I went ahead and booked us on a last minute trip! woohoo!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Piglet, what good news about your mother doing well!
Sandy, Hope that your DD feels back to her old self soon, watching the little ones be sick is so hard!

 

[momto1]

It's Saturday!! Yea...no work for me for 3 days! I took Monday off since it is a no school day for ds.

DMM - No Way!! Congrats on your order and even more congrats on going to Disney. Have a great time!

Piglet - Glad to hear about your mom. Good news!

Donald's Shrink - It sounds like your work has only just begun. Your skills will be very valuable in the coming days. Take care of yourself in preparation.

DS and DH are still sleeping. They did an overnight fundraiser at the Bulls/Sox Training Academy. I am wondering if I can get ds up for his 12:45 basketball game.

Not much going on here today since I bet ds and dh will be dead. Getting caught up on laundry and doing the grocery shopping are all that I have planned.

Oh...and geting ready for the next winter storm. This winter is unbelievable!

Lori

 

[Bunchkin]

Howdy y'all!!



Crissup & Donna Thanks for the info on Mike and Chris! Glad they are ok!!


piglet That's great news that your mom's cancer hasn't spread!!


slo Hope work goes well with the girls there today!
Hope Katie feels a little better today!
I'm still sick, but it feels like the congestion is finally breaking up.


DMM I though you said your son was having surgery in approx 2 weeks?
Will you be able to travel with him right after having his tubes put in his ears??




Have a great day everyone!

 

[Bunchkin]

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you all an update on DH's mom. You may remember she has been dealing with bladder cancer for the past year.
And has had a couple surgeries to remove the cancer.


She just had a follow up visit with her doctor after her last surgery and she is now CANCER FREE!!!

 

[macraven]

My Dad just called and my Mom is out of surgery. Everything went well, it was just a lumpectomy and the cancer has not spread.

this is wonderful news.
answered prayers.

i am so glad it has not spread.

Yesterday the NIU campus was pretty quiet. Most of the students have gone home. The students who remained were spending time with friends and family and not many people were seeking counseling yet.

Since our clinic deals more with treating psychopathology and mental illness as opposed to providing traditional counseling, it looks like the role of our clinic will be to deal with the aftermath weeks, months, years down the road for individuals who develop depression, anxiety, or PTSD related to this terrible event.

In the meantime NIU is bringing in experts in the field of crisis intervention from all over the country. They will be working with the NIU Counseling Center to provide grief counseling to those who need. It is predicted we will start seeing students seek out counseling sometime next week as more people return to campus. With that said, I did receive a crash course in crisis intervention yesterday so that I can help out if I am needed.

you are doing more help than you realize.
i'm sure in the weeks to come, students will be seeking help from your department.
my prayers and thoughts are with you and the department.
you have a big job ahead.

i'm glad you were not at that hall when the issue started.


slo: tell katie i hope she feels better real soon.

michelle: my son had the tube in both ears and was not restricted except for no water or liquid in the ear area.
check with your doc if you are flying and find out if that will be an issue for the ear pressure.

becky: contact the school board and ask them their predicted dates for spring break 2009. many school boards have the future approximated dates
for holidays and breaks way in advance.

see if they can give you any info on when they assume your district will have the spring break for 2009




i heard the weather prediction has changed this morning.
i was half asleep when i heard it but thought they changed the snow to rain for us......
guess i better go to weather dot com now.


have a great day chicagoland homies....

 

[macraven]

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you all an update on DH's mom. You may remember she has been dealing with bladder cancer for the past year.
And has had a couple surgeries to remove the cancer.


She just had a follow up visit with her doctor after her last surgery and she is now CANCER FREE!!!

FANTASTIC NEWS.

 

[Becky2005]

My Dad just called and my Mom is out of surgery. Everything went well, it was just a lumpectomy and the cancer has not spread.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you all an update on DH's mom. You may remember she has been dealing with bladder cancer for the past year.
And has had a couple surgeries to remove the cancer.


She just had a follow up visit with her doctor after her last surgery and she is now CANCER FREE!!!

Wonderful news for both of you!!!

I started getting paranoid about my "tongue" because the more I thought about it the more I was thinking it was toward the back and couldn't really tell if it was my tongue or throat. Anyway -- DH is still feeling horrible. Took DD to cheerleading, the coach says one of the girls is out due to strep. I started getting a little paranoid between these posts, DH & the other girl & 1/2 of DD's regular classes have been out sick. I was thinking of the bad incoming weather and had planned to wait until Monday but decided that you know, I really don't want to infect the entire church population if I really do have strep so decided just for giggles & grins go get it checked. It turns out it was a weak positive. Not only that I got antibotics but she also gave me a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine for if I have severe pain in that "it feels like shards of glass when you are swallowing" and then I thought HEY BINGO -- THAT'S the feeling!!! It's just on the right side though and not my entire throat, so it wasn't something I would have thought to get checked out. The last time I had strep I was like DH. I doubt I will take them as it's not that severe pain and I haven't tried the regular Tyelnol (I don't know why I have a mental roadblock with that -- I never think to take it EXCEPT for headaches!) but I'm getting it filled just in case. Knowing my luck I'm going to wake up at 2 AM with severe pain from it or something (BTDT for other things).

So you armchair doctors were correct. I guess next time I'm iffy if something is normal or not -- I'll ask here first. I do tell you I felt kind of stupid going "No, no fever. Pain in the 1-2 range unless swallowing. No other symptoms." I'm acting not like a sick person. The only thing that made me go "hmm" is when she was checking my nodes? or whatever it is when they check you neck? and made a comment about it feeling a little swollen. Not that I'm glad I have it but I'm kind of glad it turned out positive or I would have really felt like a paranoid person.

 

[HERSEY]

Becky Sorry to make you paranoid. I just remembered when I had strep it was a weird kind of sore throat, 4 people I know have it. It has been a strange season for illness.


Nicole I am glad Tony's mom has such good news. She has been very lucky in her unluckiness.

Slo Hope Katie feels better soon.

 

[Cruise04]

Hi everyone. Doctor P alerted me to this post. I haven't been on the DIS in a very long time due to a position change I made over a year ago.

Yes, Doc P and I both work at NIU. He is currently an assistant chair and a professor and I am currently working in the Provost Office - the office which was first alerted and ran to the scene and is part of the President's administrative team. However, we got most of our updates from the webpage like everyone else did because all of our bosses were in very important meetings.

Anyway - we are fine. If you've seen the pics there is a very tall building next to Cole Hall. Mike has an office in that building and then another building near the parking deck. Fortunately, Mike was in the other office when this happened. I am in the "castle", the building where all of the press have been camped out and the conferences have been held from. A half hour prior to this happening I had walked an interview candidate to the Library and had come back to my office. Later on Thursday evening I kept thinking - did I see anyone that looked strange on my way back. I don't think I did but that all became a blur when we started hearing things and I went to the campus web cam to see what was going on.

We got the notice today that classes are canceled until February 25 which will extend the semester a week out. They are going to do some training with faculty and support staff this next week on how to help the students, faculty, and staff cope with the aftermath. I've had word that there will be some people from Virginia Tech coming. They have been so instrumental in the "what to do's" since this tragedy. Along with all the other support the university has received from the community, the state, and the world.

I want to thank you for thinking of us. As I said it's been a while since I've been on here and to know that people were asking about us means a tremendous amount to us. I've been a member of this board since 1999. Thank you so much!

And Donald's Shrink - I use to work at the Counseling and Student Development Center before coming to the Provost's Office so I very much appreciate you at this moment. The skills I learned when 9/11 happened and when other tragedy's have happened to students on our campus helped me tremendously in calming not only our support staff in our office and to help remember the counseling/psych services on campus but to also aid in talking with the parents that called in. Thank you so much for the service that I know your office has given up and will be having a hand in over the weeks and months to come. Please remember to take care of yourself as well! It's something I've had to remind myself and my friends at CSDC when I stopped in there yesterday to bring food and drinks to them. The outpouring support from other community counselors and counselors from other colleges and univesities has been awesome. I'm happy to say that we had a past intern get a position at IIT and she came out yesterday and today, a past intern get a position at U of I and I believe they came up yesterday, and a past intern get a position at the local community mental health center in DeKalb and he was on campus on Thursday night as well. It's just so overwhelming to feel the love of the support of people you didn't even know about as well.

Thanks again everyone - I took today off from campus to get some things done at home and I'll be back on campus tomorrow helping handle the phone lines.

God Bless You All!
Chris

 

[Doctor P]

Thanks to all who have offered their support to NIU and the DeKalb community. As I write this, I am still struggling to remember what day it is. While all of our family is safe, this hit way, way too close to home for comfort. One of my two offices is a matter of feet from Cole Hall and from the door the gunman used to access the stage. I have been on that stage too many times to count as we use it for departmental graduation ceremonies. I was heavily bogged down with work on Thursday afternoon and my secretary was going to be out of the office for a funeral, so I decided to continue working at my quieter office and not to walk over to my department office even though I had administrative responsibility for the department that afternoon due to the absence of the chair. We got notified by a student of the shooting even before the university alert system kicked in. I immediately asked for a lock down of our building by the staff, and then demanded it be done immediately when there was some hemming and hawing. I then called the department and asked if they were locked down as well and ordered that lock down (the order from the university came at the same time as I was on the phone). Fortunately, one of the secretaries had already sprung into action and was securing things in that department and building. I then called our chair at home and he had designated an acting chair inside the other building in his and my absence from the building. I kept in phone contact with that office while I monitored the situation from my other office about 200 yards away. I was able to leave by about 5:15 pm to go home to be with our daughter, but Chris needed to stay till about 10:00 pm helping out with communication with parents among other things.

We are very, very thankful to all of the law enforcement and EMS personnel who so quickly mobilized (the show of public safety might and skill was beyond anything I could possibly describe to you in terms that you could fathom.) There response was particularly effective and brought the scene under control more quickly than I would have dreamed.

While we are certainly shaken, we will survive and persevere. Please keep all of the victims, their families and friends, and all of us who are part of the NIU community in your thoughts and prayers. They do make a difference. Thanks again for thinking about us, and thanks to our DIS friends for helping keeping others informed about us and our safety.

 

[HERSEY]

Glad to hear both of you are safe. You never want this sort of thing in your backyard. If there is anything beyond "prayers" let us know.

Take care

 

[Doctor P]

Glad to hear both of you are safe. You never want this sort of thing in your backyard. If there is anything beyond "prayers" let us know.

Take care

Hug your children extra hard, hug your loved ones extra hard, hug your friends an extra time.

Since you live in the Chicago area, please stay alert to family and friends who might have connections to NIU or to the victims. The NIU community is deep rooted in the suburbs. Most of the victims were graduates of suburban high schools including Elmhurst York, one of the Glenbards, Dundee Crown High School (the successor to my alma mater), and Morton East High School in Cicero to name just a few. Just wearing a red and black ribbon or wearing red and black right now can have a profound effect on those who have been touched.

One of my former students who is involved in the Downtown DeKalb community put up balloon streamers in our school colors on every light post in an eight block area going through our downtown. It literally brought me to tears, and at the prayer vigil last night I told her how much I appreciated the support and wondered if she had anything to do with it (since I knew her job and her propensity to do good things). It was then that she told me that she and her assistant personally put up all the balloons as a small token of support. I was very touched and thanked her profusely.

We will be OK, but we will never be the same.

 

[HERSEY]

My friend's son goes to NIU but luckily or unluckily he skipped class. I don't think he is in that part of the campus. But I will hug Alex and wear the red and black ribbon.

You can't go through something like this and be the same

 

[DonnaW]

Hi, Chris & Mike...

Please know we are all thinking about you, and thank you so much for checking in with us. Your posts truly touched my heart.

I found out yesterday that one of the victims was a close friend of the brother of my son's girlfriend. Brian (my son) knew her, also. So, yes, this touches close to home for everyone.

As Janice said, you can't go through something like this and be the same, and I can't even imagine what those most deeply touched by this are going thru!

Take care....

 

[tmq2766]

Hi everyone, Just wanted to drop in to send my prayers to the NIU families.. One of the girls killed in the incident was my stepdaughters very close friend..and one of the wounded was a sister to another of her friends. She is having a very difficult time dealing with this loss. She is on her way over to hang out and spend the night. Next week is going to be a difficult week as well with the funeral and all..