Moments after I finished documenting my assessment of Collin in my nursing notes and organizing the dinner time medications, I heard what sounded like a stampede coming up the stairwell. I got up from my desk and warily peeked out my door. The stairwell door burst open and one after the other, thirteen campers came through the door escorted b y David and Ashley. The whole mob sat down on the floor in the hallway. It brought me great sadness.

“If you are here for your regularly scheduled medicine, please come on in and I will get you taken care of.” The little group popped up and I quickly got them attended to. As the last one swallowed his medication and left I looked out at the crew in the hall. Nine. I had a sneaking suspicion these were all going to be more headaches.

“I’m guessing we have a lot of headaches this evening…yes?” Several of the boys nodded their heads. “Let’s start with headaches!” I said with feigned delight.

I pulled out all three of my thermometers and popped them into the mouths of the first three campers who had lined up at my door. “Let’s get those cooking.” I pulled out a pad of paper and waved over David, the Deer Hut counselor. “Would you mind please writing down these campers’ names and what huts they are from?”

“Sure thing, Nurse Anne!” David lined the ‘headaches’ up and started a list. Then I waved Ashley over.

“Can I help you, Nurse Anne?” Ashley followed me back into the office. I unlocked the drawer with the camper health forms.

“Yes please! Can you please pull the forms for all these campers? I need to make sure it is ok to give them acetaminophen or ibuprofen if needed.”

“OK! I can do that” Ashley gave me a quick nod.

Robbie’s was the first thermometer to  beep. No fever. Good. I waved him in and he had a seat in my office. I started my routine that I ended up repeating six times. I looked in their ears, throats and palpated for lymph nodes. Nuthing.

“Think it might be from yelling so much in the dining hall?”

“Probably?”

“Do you want something for the pain?” They would answer with a ‘no thank you’ or a ‘yes please’.

If it was a ‘yes please’, I checked his form. Acetaminophen was OK? Give him one or two depending on the age, document how many.

“Please come back if it doesn’t go away, it comes back, or if you feel sweaty. OK?” Off they went.

“NEXT!”

Six campers down. All with headaches likely from all their bellowing in the dining hall. Three campers left. I escorted them in one at a time. All three complained of sore throats. My routine continued. I looked in their ears, throats and palpated for lymph nodes. Nuthing.

“Think it might be from yelling so much in the dining hall?”

“Maybe?”

More acetaminophen.

Hormones. Sigh!