I’d like to talk about a time during my second year at university when my flatmate and close friend, Callum, came down with a really severe bout of flu. It happened right in the middle of winter, just before our mid-term assessments, which made the whole situation quite stressful for him. He woke up one morning with a high fever, terrible chills, and could barely get out of bed.
Since his family lived quite far away in Scotland, I stepped in to look after him for about four or five days until he was back on his feet. The first thing I did was pop down to the local chemist to pick up some paracetamol, throat lozenges, and a digital thermometer. Over the next few days, I took charge of the cooking, preparing simple vegetable soups, hot lemon tea, and making sure he stayed properly hydrated. I also had to liaise with his course tutors to let them know he’d be missing his seminars and to request extensions on his coursework deadlines.
To be honest, it was fairly exhausting because I was trying to balance my own revision with keeping an eye on him. That said, I felt a strong sense of responsibility and genuine satisfaction being able to support him when he was so vulnerable. It really strengthened our bond, and I was immensely relieved when his temperature finally dropped and he regained his appetite. Knowing that I’d made his recovery a bit easier was incredibly rewarding.