grandmothersmusings

Friday, March 09, 2007

THE GOOD OLD DAYS?

Since the purpose of my Blog was to let my grandkids know what life was like growing up, I know I need to post more than I have lately.

One of the big differences was in the small town where I lived between ages 4 & 11, Doctors made House calls. I remember many visits from the doctor when we lived in Freemont Ohio. I don't remember this happening in Cleveland where they probably had clinics.

As a small child, if it was a disease, we caught it, & would generously share it with each other as siblings do. We had among other things, Chicken Pox, which I got in Kindergarden & brought home to my younger sister, who had it much worse than myself on every part of her body. We had both kinds of Measles, what was called then as 3 day measles, & regular measles the hardkind which lasted longer & made you really sick. One of the worst ones was Whooping Cough because you cough so hard & have a problem catching your breath. My sister contacted Scarlet Fever,
& our house had a sign on the door which read "Quarentine" which ment no one could come in or out during the time the sign was there. Daddy had to go to his mom's house.

The doctor would come to the house carrying his little black satchel which contained a thermometer, & stethescope to listen to our chest, & I don't know what else was in there.

As a small child I had very bad nosebleeds & I can remember several visits by the doctor when this happened. He must have had an office downtown though, which was quite a distance from where we lived.
One day I was taken there to have my tonsils & adenoids(whatever they are) removed. This was a very frightening experience & I remember being angry with my mom about it.

The
anasthetic they used was Ether. The Nurse put the cone shaped thing over my nose & the Ether was dripped over it from a bottle I think. It was horrable smelling stuff. I'm not sure how long I was there but I was groggy & my throat hurt afterwards. I think I went home in a Taxi which was driven by one of my older cousins who carried me out & then into the house when we got home.

There were good things about growing up during that long ago time, bu childhood diseases which we now have shots to prevent, & modern anesthetics are a big improvement as well as our modern well equiped hospitals make this a good time for my little grandkids to be growing up in.

16 Comments:

Blogger Tammy said...

Thank you for this peek into the "good" old days, Mom. So many childhood diseases back then were definitely not on the plus side!

Of course, I do wish doctors still made house calls sometimes! :)

12:32 PM  
Blogger 2nd Cup of Coffee said...

I wishing you a belated happy birthday. I just met Tammy, and we have a lot in common. My mother is 81, so I know how special you are because of the history of your lifetime. I respect your generation so much!

2:25 PM  
Blogger Susannah said...

I remember doctor house calls too, and that little black satchel. Thanks for sharing your memories. :~)

8:52 PM  
Blogger Pamela said...

young mothers today just don't know the horrors they are missing. so many little ones died from measles, smallpox, diptheria, scarlet febver, polio, and whooping cough. Or had debilitating side effects.

9:21 PM  
Blogger groovyoldlady said...

The childhood illness issue is a tough one. Many moms today are uncomfortable with vaccinations, especially since they seem to be coming out with a new one every couple of years.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Groovy. Silly-Head only needs fourteen shots today and then she'll be all done for at least four months. Then she'll have to come back for her anti snow allergy titer and her athlete's foot booster."

Nonetheless, I have no desire to watch my kiddos suffer through whooping cough or polio, so we pick and choose our vaccinations.

4:34 AM  
Blogger groovyoldlady said...

Oh...and I forgot to tell you Happy Birthday, so...


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4:35 AM  
Blogger Susan said...

Great post about the good old days. I love the fact that your daughter has encouraged everyone to go visit you.

May you be blessed...and continue to be a blessing as I know you are to her.

Hugs.

:-) Susan

9:21 AM  
Blogger Looney Momâ„¢ said...

My daughter Taylor had Scarlet Fever a couple of years ago - she may have been about 7? I feel bad that I can't remember. But anyway, thank God we do live in a age where things are not so severe as in your day. And my little boys just had the chicken pox but they weren't too bad since they had already had the vaccine. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your life.

Happy Birthday!

9:24 AM  
Blogger Tricia said...

Wishing you a belated happy birthday! Thank you for sharing your memories with us!

12:06 PM  
Blogger Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

Wishing you a happy belated birthday. I have been reading Tammy's blog for a while now. She is great.

Thanks for sharing your memories. I am so thankful we have shots now. People really take them for granted.

8:31 PM  
Blogger Macromoments said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

(Sorry, I had to delete 2 comments...this form keeps acting strange and then disappearing.)
My mom was born in April 1923. She passed into heaven 2-1/2 years ago, and my dad joined her there last August.

Your stories are wonderful, and what a TREASURE they must be to your grandkids! I remember many of the things you write about, and it brings back a lot of happy memories.

I'll be visiting here often. You are officially bookmarked! God bless you...

1:06 PM  
Blogger Lori said...

I know I am late but I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!!

5:04 PM  
Blogger Karen said...

Happy Belated Birthday! Thank you for sharing your memories. I enjoyed the ones about Pearl Harbor. Your writings remind me of my mother's stories. I used to love hearing about the times when she was growing up. I miss the stories. I will be back for more!

6:38 PM  
Blogger maria said...

Just found out about your blog and love it.

Please keep posting your memories.
I wish my mom had done so before she left us for "up there".

Marie

1:03 PM  

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