Children's Diseases - The Calls 1896-1915-1934
Arthur, as a little child, was subject to sudden mysterious attacks of illness, which would frighten his mama almost to death. He would have high fever, and sometimes his stomach would reject all food and then he would gag and retch. He and Edith had the whooping cough when Edith was six or eight months old. Arthur had quite a bad cough, but I never heard him whoop more than once or twice. Edith was very sick, especially along towards Spring, when she caught more Cold and lay in a stupid condition for days, hardly eating or moving. We had a doctor at last, and he said she might get along, but he had known of a similar case where a child dropped off very suddenly and unexpectedly. he couldn't tell what the outcome would be in her case. She began to improve about that time, and with the help of "emulsion of cod liver oil," she soon became robust again. She was always a very large child. Arthur weight 7 1/2 pounds when he was born, Edith 9 1/2, Robert 8 1/2, and Evelyn 8.
Arthur and Edith had the measles when they were 6 and 3 years old. We were expecting Ezra and Sarah and their children to Wichita at that time and were so sorry not to have them come to us. Edith was worse with the measles than Arthur was and didn't seem to entirely recover all summer. The glands of her throat were swollen, and she had some bad eruptions.
The winter of 94 & 95 Harold and Clara and Albert had the scarlet fever, and we still marvel that our little folks didn't have it. Aunt Sarah thinks there was a "special providence" in it. Clara and Albert had the measles after Arthur and Edith, and that summer Albert broke his arm twice in the same place, his left elbow.
Little Robert was seldom sick. He had an attack something like "the grip" when I weaned him, and was very sick and miserable. Then the summer of '95 he met with an accident that frightened us badly. Charles was repairing the sidewalk, and the children put a board on a chair on the porch with one end projecting over the railing of the porch. Robert walked out on that, and had a severe fall on his head, for a day or two he didn't want to stand or move his head, and it was a very anxious time for us.
Arthur had one very slight attack of croup, and Edith had only one, but that very severe, the summer she was six. Her breathing was very hard, but I put a flannel wet in hot water on her throat, and had her breathe steam, and she was soon better, and has had trace of it since.
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Arthur - Charles Arthur Call (1885-1962) son of Charles Joslin Call and Elizabeth Ann Coe
his mama - Elizabeth Ann Coe (1862-1956), daughter of Albert Coe (1827-1907) and Deborah Prentice (1833-1910). She married Charles Joslin Call in 1884, and is the author of this manuscript
Edith - Edith Alberta Call (1889-1989) daughter of Charles Joslin Call and Elizabeth Ann Coe
whooping cough - Whooping Cough, also known as Pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Prior to the development of an effective vaccine in the 1940s, up to 200,000 children a year in the United States became ill with the disease, and about 9,000 died. Edith and Arthur likely had whooping cough in the winter of 1889-90 based on Edith's birth on 5 June 1889.
Robert - Robert Vincent Call (1892-1961) son of Charles Joslin Call and Elizabeth Ann Coe
Evelyn - Evelyn Clara Call (1895-1962) daughter of Charles Joslin Call and Elizabeth Ann Coe
measles - Measles are a highly contagious infection caused by the measles virus. Measles pneumonia was a common complication of measles prior to the development of effective vaccines. The death rate in the 1920s from measles pneumonia was about 30%. Arthur and Edith probably had the measles in 1891-1892.
Ezra and Sarah - Ezra Frank Coe (1854-1942) son of Albert Coe and Deborah Prentice, and his wife Sarah Frances Ward (1856-1942), daughter of Charles Kendall Ward (1819-1898) and Laura Caroline Davenport (1822-1876).
Harold - Harold David McEwen (1892-1963) son of James Daniel McEwen (1861-1901) and Clara Addie Coe (1864-1950), daughter of Albert Coe and Deborah Prentice
Clara - Clara Evelyn Coe (1886-1972) daughter of Ezra Frank Coe and Sarah Frances Ward
Albert - Charles Albert Coe (1890-1976) son of Ezra Frank Coe and Sarah Frances Ward
scarlet fever - Scarlet fever is a bacterial illness that some people with strep throat develop. Prior to the development of antibiotics, scarlet fever had a death rate of 15-20%.
the grip - an outdated term for influenza. Robert likely had the grip in 1893.
Charles - Charles Joslin Call (1859-1939), son of Robert Call (1831-1913) and Charlotte Joslin (1834-1908), he married Elizabeth Ann Coe in 1884
croup - Croup is an infection of the upper airway that can obstruct breathing. Patients often have a barking cough. Severe cases today can be treated with steroids and epinephrine. Edith likely had croup in the summer of 1895.
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