40 Years Ago Today - April 26, 1977

Not even a week has passed and I'm back in Dr. Cho's office with an ear infection.

Today also marks the 30th anniversary of my grandmother's death. And while I know this #40yearsagotoday project is all about me, I just can't wait ten years without mentioning her. Just last year, I wrote about her and her visit to see me for my first Christmas. And just over ten years ago I wrote about inviting her to Thanksgiving dinner.

Photo from https://www.findagrave.com

Ten years seems like a long time sometimes. But when I think about my doctor's visit 40 years ago for an ear infection and then a short 10 years later losing my grandmother, it just feels like the weight of death is sitting on my shoulders.

40 Years Ago Today - April 21, 1977

In what would become a frequent occurrence in my childhood, I see the doctor for an ear infection, a sore throat, or bronchitis. Or in this case, a combination of all of them. This is the first record of an ear infection I could find (as well as bronchitis) in my notebook so I can only conclude that this is the first one I had. It wouldn't be the last.

It suddenly struck me as I was reading this entry how odd my father's word choices were at the time. While he's intelligent, I can only assume he's writing what the doctor is saying or putting in my chart. For example, he writes the reason for the visit is "Acute Pharyrgitis [sic]" which is actually "acute pharyngitis" or in more common terms, a sore throat. While it is frequently caused by strep throat, specifically the Streptococcus bacteria, there's no indication that was the cause behind my sore throat. Cultures were taken but nothing was written down for the results.

However, it was also noted that I had "Bilateral otitis media" (an ear infection) and "Acute Bronchitis." But to go back to the odd choice in words, my father then notes I "had bad infection in both ears."

The back and forth between simple words and medical terms is confusing but I can only assume my father is parroting back what the doctor is telling him then simplifying that. My assumption is based solely on how well I know him and the fact that I often do something similar.

40 Years Ago Today - April 8, 1977

Once again, I'm visiting the doctor. This time Dr. Cho gave me a "well baby check" that I can only assume went well since there were no other notes.