Clarification Appended
Even though doctors confirmed he had swine flu Monday, Penn State student Kevin MacDonald said he's facing a bigger battle: boredom.
"I'm completely isolated," he said, sighing with a laugh through the phone. "But everybody's been really nice about it, and they take it pretty seriously. Penn State is like a big family."
MacDonald (freshman-graphic design) is one of 10 Penn State students to have contracted the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, and is temporarily living in a single room in Eastview Terrace.
To pass the time, MacDonald said he does crunches, push-ups and other exercises and watches movies on his laptop.
But life in Eastview Terrace has its perks, such as air conditioning and a private bathroom, two advantages MacDonald said he especially likes.
MacDonald first felt symptoms of fatigue and stomach ache last week. After a throat test Monday, he was informed he had swine flu.
He was told to pack his bags because he was headed for a single room, he said.
"When I was at the doctor's, they were like, 'We're going to contact Residence Life. Go straight back to your room and pick up everything you need for a week,' " MacDonald said.
A residence life employee brings meals to his door three times a day, and MacDonald is not supposed to leave his room, a tough task for the self-described runner and ultimate Frisbee player.
When he did venture out of his room to watch TV down the hall, he joked he was "scolded" by building officials.
While MacDonald battles boredom, his mother, Pam MacDonald, said she's fighting feeling helpless.
After her son called to inform her of the situation, she said reality didn't really set in until she was at the grocery store near their Massachusetts home.
While shopping, she bumped into a friend who asked about her son.
She said she "went from being very calm to being very frantic."
"Oh my God, I need to go home and drive to Penn State," Pam McDonald said, laughing at what she thought in the grocery store. "As a mom, I just want to be with him."
After researching the virus, she relaxed and said she appreciated how quickly the university reacted to the situation by isolating her son so others wouldn't get infected.
The infected students are isolated in new dorm rooms or sent home for seven days so they can recover, said Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers.
"In hindsight, our first in-residence-hall case probably could have used a little more alert," Powers said.
Powers noted that Residence Life officials have held meetings with students in the dorms and posted flyers regarding the virus.
She stressed the importance of practicing good hygiene, like washing hands, in order to prevent catching the virus.
Pam MacDonald said she hopes the university uses the swine flu pandemic as an experience to help prepare for future health pandemics that might be more serious than swine flu.
Stan Latta, assistant vice president of Housing and Food Services, was unable to be reached for comment.
Clarification: An article "Ten students contracted swine flu" on page one of Tuesday's Daily Collegian unclearly stated that sick students on campus were quarantined. The correct term is isolated, not quarantined.
