MONONUCLEOSIS

MONONUCLEOSIS is a huge word for a infectious happening within our bodies. It has been called the 'kissing disease' because it transmits by droplets and close contact. The word MONONUCLEOSIS is a relatively new word; 1915-1920.

Certainly there were symptoms of fatigue, swollen glands, and a sore throat before then. What did they call it? Gland Fever?

An old doctor diagnosed Old Trunks with Virus of the Lymph Glands in the mid fifties. I can assure you I was young enough not to be kissing anyone! The treatment in those days was simple: Rest. I had it around Easter, Daddy carried me into my grandmother's house to conserve my energy. Dressing for Easter was an energy loss. I was home from school for a couple of weeks. When I went back, I had a pass to not take gym class; I wasn't happy about that because I loved playing softball. I took pictures of my friends playing softball instead. The doctor considered the virus set in following the measles I had earlier in the year.

My brother had mono. I am certain his WAS a kissing disease. It is not certain when he became well. Greg would sleep all day and when evening came, he was off to hang out with his friends. Maybe his wasn't as bad or he simply didn't care.

One of my children had mono in high school. It isn't known just how a flag went up to bring him to the doctor. The doctor was, in my opinion, the best medical person to hire I will ever meet. He stated my child had mono and he needed to rest and be retested in a certain amount of days to see how the illness was progressing.

My child just happened to contract mono during a time when Old Trunks was heavy into vitamins and minerals. From some source I had read that Vitamin C taken in large amounts could cure mono. A staple in our kitchen cabinet was chewable vitamin C which I took and fed to the dog each day. There was no question in my mind but to feed it to my son on an hourly basis. The recheck the next week showed the mono was inactive. My son told the doctor, "Mom fed me enough Vitamin C to grow a third leg."

I told this story to another child of mine who hired a doctor recently and was tested for mono. The child did not have active mono but has had it in the past.

While I have been writing this blog today, I have been thinking about all the books by Adele Davis that we read and all the vitamins and /or minerals we took as a family. I am thinking about the homemade cough syrup we put together and the experiments we had with no sugar one summer, (my birthday cake was a wedge of cheese on top of a wheel of cheese). I am thinking about how one child agreed to let me feed her brain.

Was all of the experimentation successful? Old Trunks likes to think we were doing something forward. Was it a new concept? Heavens no. Was it a new concept to us? Yes. Does that count? Absolutely. I am thinking about Xiao, the dog, and how he would sit up for a chewable vitamin C as soon as he heard the bottle rattle. Right behind him was the youngest child, wanting Vitamin C also. I like to think that the youngest may have been the healthiest all those years.

For now? Where is that bottle of chewables?

High C for Thee.

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