Measles Memory

Measles has been making headlines in the news lately. Several cases have been cropping up in the U.S. and even Lancaster County is reporting the diagnosis of at least one person with the disease. Unfortunately, some parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children, thereby creating a risk for others--especially infants and the elderly. There is concern of a possible large outbreak of this serious disease that should have been completely eradicated by vaccination.

Most people in my generation (which was way before the vaccination was available) had the disease as a child, but I progressed into my teenage years without being exposed to it, or if I was, I didn't contract it. When I was finally stricken with the illness, along with the misery that it inflicted, it left me forever with a warm memory of my mother.

I had less than two weeks remaining in my freshman year of high school when I came down with the measles. Several classmates had already fallen ill with the disease so it was not a shock when I woke up one morning not feeling well. What was actually my biggest concern was the fact that I was facing a mountain of finals and year-end projects and I was worried that my grades would plummet because I couldn't complete the necessary studies or assignments that needed to be finished before the school year ended.

 

Of course the school was understanding and I was allowed to do my work at home. However, one of the discomforts of measles is watery eyes which makes it difficult to read. Also, it was thought that if you didn't protect your eyes from the light while having the measles you could end up with serious eye issues and even ultimately blindness. (I think this is a myth. My Google research hints at that.) Anyway, like everyone else did in that era, I laid in bed in a darkened room so as to protect my eyes from any horrible lingering effects of the disease. Of course, this didn't bode well for doing schoolwork.

 

I was taking an Advanced Reading class and I still had a book to read before the end of the year. This is when my mother entered the picture. The book I needed to read was "To Kill a Mockingbird." She picked up the book and sat by my bed and read the entire book out loud to me while I lay with a cloth over my eyes to protect them from any light. I actually think she read by flashlight instead of turning the ceiling light on, but my memory is a little fuzzy on that. Mother was a great reader and made the story come alive and we both became absorbed in the exploits of Scout and Atticus.

 

When I went back to school there was just a few days left and I honestly don't remember how I did in any of my other classes, but on the test for "To Kill a Mockingbird," I got 100%.  I returned home that day and said to Mother, "We did it. We aced the test!"

 

So although to most people, the word measles strikes fear in their hearts, to me, it brings to mind the picture of a 15-year-old girl lying ill in bed, and her mother sitting beside her, reading a book out loud. It is a memory I will always treasure.