I'll never forget the time my sister (about 4) sneaked into the kitchen while my mom, dad, & me were watching something on TV (I was about 5). Suddenly my dad jumped up and rushed into the kitchen. My sister was sneaking a drink of grape juice my mom had canned which had whole grapes in the juice. My sister had swallowed one of the grapes and was choking on it. Now back then, no one knew anything about CPR. I remember cowering on the sofa while my dad carried my sister into the dining room & had her by the ankles - jerking her up and down and yelling at the top of his lungs to my Mom. Mom was wailing (she's deaf and there's nothing more poignant than the wail of a deaf person.) They didn't know what to do and my sister's face was getting bluer and bluer. Frantic, Mom hit my sister dead center in the back and the grape flew across the room. I remember watching our dog Skippy chase the grape under the china cabinet in the dining room. I'll never forget hearing my sister's first gasps of air and Mom's wails turning into sobs. Mom and my grandmother and my great-grandmother never put whole grapes in the grape juice they made after that. I may not remember if I've taken my meds today or if I ate breakfast or what I ate for breakfast - BUT I remember this like it just happened, even though it was over 50 years ago. I also remember those polio shots. Seems like those needles were a foot long!! Since I was the oldest & my sister had a needle phobia, I had to go first and not cry - show my sister how it didn't hurt. (Yeah, right.) I did my duty and got a lollipop. Then it was my sister's turn and it took the entire medical staff, Mom, Dad, and anyone else who was handy, to hold her down for her polio shot. The bummer of the deal was that she got a lollipop TOO!!! Happened every time. Even when we were teenagers & came down with strep throat, I had to go first and show her that the penicillin shot didn't hurt. By this time, it took just Mom and Dad to hold my sister still. We didn't get lollipops by this time, but I still felt indignant and wanted to scream out when I got my shot. But I knew that would really set off my sister. How she got through giving birth TWO times without me showing her how it didn't hurt is beyond me. She went through childbirth without being knocked out - but I'm not sure if they didn't hafta strap her down onto the delivery table or not ;~) One of the neighborhood girls had survived polio as had a cousin (Stacey, that would be Cleta Young) so Mom made sure we all had our polio vaccinations. Some of you might remember those syringes - glass & stainless steel and evil looking and how long those needles were. The doctor we saw at the time was an old-time doctor who had an office in the parlor of his house. His wife was a tiny little woman who reminded me of a bird. She was his receptionist/nurse and was one of the sweetest ladies I've ever known. Years later, my widowed grandmother moved to town and was the Doctor and his wife's next-door-neighbor. I'd go over and visit the Doctor and his wife many times. The doctor's hobby was tatting and he showed me his many glorious creations. The doctor's wife loved baking molasses cookies and she offered many to me over the years - washed down with her homemade lemonade. They LOVED having kids stop by to visit them. They were like family to me. My sister sometimes went over to visit the Doctor and his wife - but only if I went with her. (Stacey - this would be Dr. Carr : http://iagenweb.org/decatur/bioDocs/GRbios/GRDrJRossCarr.html Dave, Dr. and Mrs. Carr were interred at the Hopeville Cemetery in Clarke County.) Sharon R. Becker Ringgold County IAGenWeb Coordinator srbecker@iowatelecom.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy M. Boyd" <geniegirl@iowatelecom.net> Cc: <IOWA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 5:15 AM Subject: Re: [IOWA] children's early deaths > That is not so farfetched as it seems. In my mothers family in the 1920 > they had whooping cough. One of the so called ways to stop the coughing > was take a spoonful of sugar with a drop of kerosene in it, or eat a > glob of vapo rub. With inteventions such as those, it's a wonder any of > them survived. > > Nancy > _____________________________________________ > > For additional information concerning how the list > works, how to sub and unsub and list rules, visit > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~richard/ialist/ > _____________________________________________ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IOWA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database: 270.11.7/1983 - Release Date: 3/4/2009 > 7:41 AM > >