Sunday, July 12, 2015

The Weber Kids Have the Measles!

Bill, Mary, Robert and Carl in 1929, not quite two years after these events.

In 1927 my father, Robert, his sister Mary, and his two brothers, Bill (older) and Carl (younger) all had the measles during November.  My grandmother kept a record of the events for some reason and it is enlightening to read now.  I highlighted below the two best parts of the experience for them!  It looks like the kids had the "hard measles" rather than the "3 day" based on length of time and their aversion to light. 
Bill, Robert, Carl and Mary - around this time period.
Interesting that they were both suffering through the measles -- bad -- and getting electric wiring in their old 14 room farmhouse -- good -- at the same time.   This is a fun trip back in time.

Sunday
October 30th
Robert ill in bed with earache and stomach.
Monday
October 31st
Started wiring for electric lights
Tuesday
November 1st
Mary brought home from school with headache
Wednesday
November 2nd
Billy in bed with headache
Thursday
November 3rd
Had doctor for Robert. 
Billy & Mary went to school.
Friday
November 4th
Mary ill when she came home from school
Saturday
November 5th
Billy and Mary “drooped” around all day. 
Mary started breaking out late at night.
Sunday
November 6th
Mary broke out in measles Saturday and Sunday at night. 
Billy started breaking out Sunday afternoon.
Monday
November 7th
Billy started breaking out Sunday and Monday at night
Friday
November 11th
Rash practically all gone on Mary. 
Carl was very restless during night
Saturday
November 12th
Carl had high fever during night.  Very quiet all day.
Billy and Mary up around house
Sunday
November 13th
Robert had high fever during night.  Carl vomited after supper, coughs a great deal.
Monday
November 14th
Wire men came to finish wiring of house.
Carl not well – looked as if he were going to break out.
Men had doors open a great deal and day was cold.
Carl had several blotches on face by supper time.
Tuesday
November 15th
Kept Carl and Robert both in bed.
Men finished wiring and left
Carl broke out some of face and body.
Wednesday
November 16th
Carl pretty well broke out except feet and hands.
Robert also pretty well broken out. 
Carl can’t stand light.
Thursday
November 17th
Both broken out pretty well all over. 
Don’t want any light.
Thurs, Fri, Sat
Nov 17, 18 & 19
Very restless and hard to care for. 
Don’t want me out of sight a minute. 
Can’t stand light, especially Carl. 
Robert had earache and passed blood in stools as he did after earache of Oct 30th tho not so much.
Sunday & Monday
Nov 20 & 21st
Felt pretty good and were hard to keep in bed.
I had a pretty good sleep Monday night, the first good sleep in weeks.
Rash pretty well gone 
Tuesday
November 22nd
They were dressed and played on the beds.
Wednesday
November 23rd
Billy and Mary went downstairs toward evening.
Thursday
November 24th
We are all thankful to be able to eat Thanksgiving Dinner together.
Friday
November 25th
Herman’s Birthday and all getting along fine
Thursday
December 1
All out of quarantine
Saturday
December 3rd
All went to town. Got Billy suit ($11) at Schankes;
Robert overcoat ($6), cap ($1) and mittens ($.50) at Schankes; Carl mittens ($.50) at Schankes; and
Mary black oxford shoes at Doyles.  End of entry. 

   Good reminder of the childhood diseases that families faced simply because there were no vaccines for them yet available. The one drawback of the magnificent vaccines that we have is that rarely do people see what the disease looks like -- whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, mumps.
 Susan, the writer of these events, working on some task.

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