DD Date 1984.02.14

February 14, 1984

Back in October we were worried about "nuclear winter" freezing us to death, but the mild winter so far has caused problems we did not foresee! The cold of the winter here in the upstate of South Carolina usually keeps down pests -- like insects and mice. But with practically NO cold weather the pests are over-running our house! It does not help having a wooded area with standing water just a stone's throw from the back porch.

Long story short, the bugs carry "bugs" -- we all got sick! I'd say if we did not have connections with the hospital we may not have survived. Debbie's job provided the support we needed to get clean water and food. I guess I could say we just got careless. Even with running water, we didn't always wash properly. The food get from the distribution center has to be eaten as soon as the cans and boxes are opened because we have no refrigeration.

Little Rebecca got sick first, and since I was with her more those first days (it was in the middle of the week when Debbie was working her twelve-hour shifts), I had to clean up after her puke and diarrhea! It spread to the boys, and even to Debbie. About that time, to make matters worse, I lost my job as I feared might happen. Debbie tried to pick up a few more hours but then she was out sick as well. Finally, on February 2nd, we moved as a family into adjoining rooms at the hospital!

The support we had from the church and from Debbie's work was great. But there were times when I had fevers so high that I was seeing things. Drugs have already become scarce so the most they could do for us was keep us comfortable and have us drink plenty of water to replace what we were losing.

Friends from church moved our stuff to the new house, but I had someone drive me over to see Nanny after we were released from the hospital. Thankfully, Nanny was healthy. She shared with us some herbal remedies a friend of hers recommended. Even the doctors at the hospital are beginning to use natural medicines whenever they can. Most of them are realistic about the current situation and know that out of state suppliers are out of the question for quite some time.

Oh yeah, I just noticed that today is Valentine's Day. Funny, but I don't think many folk were celebrating today. Those that were gave hand-made cards and flowers from the back yard -- yeah, in February? Mostly weeds! Candy was homemade as well -- mostly cookies made from cornmeal and honey since the sugar supplies are gone. I guess the Christmas treats used up most of the sugar on hand.

Well, I'm still weak, and some of those herbs I'm taking are making me drowsy! Well, it's getting dark anyway. I'm going to bed early.

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