and the front door. Although measles was a disease most commonly contracted in childhood, persons well along in years sometimes came down with it. She wasn’t taking a chance unless she had to.
Two little children pressed up against the windowpane, waving enthusiastically to her as she walked by.
When Mrs. Cooper brought her brood into the office, only one had broken out. The mother had been in a panic. She was sure little Johnny’s rash meant scarlet fever. He’d had a high temperature followed by chills and languor for three days before a dusky-red rash erupted on his forehead and gradually spread all over his body. He also had weepy eyes and a runny nose. Lilly had been secretly appalled to think Mrs. Cooper would bring the boy into the office if she suspected a contagious disease, especially one as dangerous as scarlet fever. It would have been much safer for the community at large if she had requested a house call.
Johnny’s mother had been relieved when Lilly taught her how to tell the difference between the two diseases. In measles the spots were not as deeply colored and were differently shaped, grouped in crescents, and rougher to the touch. In scarlet fever the spots appeared on the second dayof illness, in measles on the third or fourth, and the irritation of the nose, sneezing, and discharge that were prominent symptoms of measles did not occur in scarlet fever.
Thankfully, Mrs. Cooper’s children were otherwise healthy. Lilly didn’t expect there would be complications. She’d provided a care plan for the mother to follow: spare diet, including baked apples to keep the bowels gently open, plenty of diluted drinks, sponge baths with tepid vinegar and water to cool the skin and relieve the itching, and a darkened room to soothe the eyes.
Mrs. Cooper appeared in the window behind her children. Soon the little ones were throwing kisses Lilly’s way and Mrs. Cooper mouthed, “Thank you.”
Poor dear, Lilly thought, waving back. She’s in for a long haul. It was not uncommon when there were several children in a family for the cases to succeed each other in fortnightly intervals. She suspected Mr. Cooper had moved out of the house for the duration. A man couldn’t afford to be caught up in quarantine. Someone had to make a living. I should have sent her home with a bottle of Lydia Pinkham’s. She might need a bit of uplifting tonic to keep from pulling her hair out.
Lilly slipped in the back door to her office. The clinic was an L-shaped building. The short arm held the waiting room and her office/exam room, which backed up to a wide hallway that led to the small hospital and the surgery. She’d learned never to go in through the front room, where patients wouldbe waiting. Long minutes seated on hard wooden benches —not to mention whatever ailment had brought them there —tended to make folks impatient. If she went through the front room, someone was sure to demand her attention even if they were out of turn.
She seated herself behind the desk and pulled the string that would ring a bell at the nurse’s station to signal that she was ready for the first case of the day.
“The doctor will see you now,” Mazy said as she escorted old Mrs. Hill to the chair facing Lilly’s desk.
Lilly caught her sister’s eye, and Mazy gave her a thumbs-up. Dressed in a coffee-colored linen blouse and coordinating glen-plaid skirt, she was cute as a bug.
“Everything going okay out there?” Lilly asked.
Mazy’s hand strayed to plump her hair, but she jerked it back as if she’d been caught admiring herself in a mirror. “Yes, thank you, Doctor. Nurse says I’m a fast learner.”
“It’s not so well with me,” Mrs. Hill said with a huff. “I’ve been waiting since eight.”
Behind the patient’s back, Mazy rolled her eyes. Lilly wished she could roll hers. The office didn’t even open until nine. There was not a single solitary thing wrong with Mrs. Hill. But she showed up every
Two little children pressed up against the windowpane, waving enthusiastically to her as she walked by.
When Mrs. Cooper brought her brood into the office, only one had broken out. The mother had been in a panic. She was sure little Johnny’s rash meant scarlet fever. He’d had a high temperature followed by chills and languor for three days before a dusky-red rash erupted on his forehead and gradually spread all over his body. He also had weepy eyes and a runny nose. Lilly had been secretly appalled to think Mrs. Cooper would bring the boy into the office if she suspected a contagious disease, especially one as dangerous as scarlet fever. It would have been much safer for the community at large if she had requested a house call.
Johnny’s mother had been relieved when Lilly taught her how to tell the difference between the two diseases. In measles the spots were not as deeply colored and were differently shaped, grouped in crescents, and rougher to the touch. In scarlet fever the spots appeared on the second dayof illness, in measles on the third or fourth, and the irritation of the nose, sneezing, and discharge that were prominent symptoms of measles did not occur in scarlet fever.
Thankfully, Mrs. Cooper’s children were otherwise healthy. Lilly didn’t expect there would be complications. She’d provided a care plan for the mother to follow: spare diet, including baked apples to keep the bowels gently open, plenty of diluted drinks, sponge baths with tepid vinegar and water to cool the skin and relieve the itching, and a darkened room to soothe the eyes.
Mrs. Cooper appeared in the window behind her children. Soon the little ones were throwing kisses Lilly’s way and Mrs. Cooper mouthed, “Thank you.”
Poor dear, Lilly thought, waving back. She’s in for a long haul. It was not uncommon when there were several children in a family for the cases to succeed each other in fortnightly intervals. She suspected Mr. Cooper had moved out of the house for the duration. A man couldn’t afford to be caught up in quarantine. Someone had to make a living. I should have sent her home with a bottle of Lydia Pinkham’s. She might need a bit of uplifting tonic to keep from pulling her hair out.
Lilly slipped in the back door to her office. The clinic was an L-shaped building. The short arm held the waiting room and her office/exam room, which backed up to a wide hallway that led to the small hospital and the surgery. She’d learned never to go in through the front room, where patients wouldbe waiting. Long minutes seated on hard wooden benches —not to mention whatever ailment had brought them there —tended to make folks impatient. If she went through the front room, someone was sure to demand her attention even if they were out of turn.
She seated herself behind the desk and pulled the string that would ring a bell at the nurse’s station to signal that she was ready for the first case of the day.
“The doctor will see you now,” Mazy said as she escorted old Mrs. Hill to the chair facing Lilly’s desk.
Lilly caught her sister’s eye, and Mazy gave her a thumbs-up. Dressed in a coffee-colored linen blouse and coordinating glen-plaid skirt, she was cute as a bug.
“Everything going okay out there?” Lilly asked.
Mazy’s hand strayed to plump her hair, but she jerked it back as if she’d been caught admiring herself in a mirror. “Yes, thank you, Doctor. Nurse says I’m a fast learner.”
“It’s not so well with me,” Mrs. Hill said with a huff. “I’ve been waiting since eight.”
Behind the patient’s back, Mazy rolled her eyes. Lilly wished she could roll hers. The office didn’t even open until nine. There was not a single solitary thing wrong with Mrs. Hill. But she showed up every
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