Sunday, June 21, 1925
Better but no pep. This affects the nerves awfully. I’m so done up, no wonder Albert seems so all in. His heart is irregular now. Oh, I hope it doesn’t leave him weak in any way. He has no fever now. The folks brought chicken over and cooked it for dinner. In the evening my cheek got to paining more.
(Goodness sakes, what was this illness? I've read all three years of Grandma's diaries, and was always struck by how much harder it seemed to just live in the 1920's compared to today. Yes, I read all about them being sick, and especially about Albert being sick and thought it was bad, but when you read the diary entries one day at a time versus in one sitting, you really get a better feel for how long they were sick, and begin to feel the concern Grandma had for Albert and all her boys, and how helpless she felt not knowing what to do.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I wonder about Albert's irregular heart beat. Didn't he have to have a beart valve replaced early in life? (Grandma -- (Eleanor) doesn't remember the specifics, just that he had heart problems. She always thought his broken heart contributed to his heart problems.... he asked the love of his life to marry him, she said "no" so he joined the priesthood instead, then the girl changed her mind, but it was too late.) I know he had several major heart surgeries and died fairly young of a heart attack. Makes me wonder if this infection spread to his heart and he ended up with pericarditis or endocarditis.
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps it was rheumatic fever. One of the biggest threats of a streptococcus infection is to the heart. Having gone through similar in our own family with strep for months on end even with the use of antibiotics this just resonates with me. I can only imagine your poor grandmother's worry, not to mention the effect it could have had on the baby she was carrying.
ReplyDelete