Page 93 - REALLY What A time Book IX

REALLY SO WHAT
What A Time

DOCTORS AND BROKEN THINGS

Today doctors often work 4 day weeks, closing Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. In the 1940’s doctors were on call 24
hours a day Monday through Sunday and at night. They even
made house calls. It was a good thing as there were lots of
kids, and we always needed medical attention.

Once I’d moved to Fairlington seeing our family doctor was a
regular affair, but nothing special except for my headaches.

During these years I often had headaches. They were pretty
severe, and occurred frequently, as often as twice a month.
The worst were usually during the summer after a movie.
Coming out of the dark theater to the bright sunlight would
not only bring on a bad headache but often make it difficult
for me to see.

A cure for those strong headaches would usually cause me to
take the doctors subscribed pills, but also I would go to bed in
a dark room with an Ice pack. Usually after sleeping and
resting I would feel much better.
The doctor called the headaches ‘Migraine’. I think that’s a
synonym for ‘Don’t Know’. He subscribed ‘Empirin’ which I
don’t think was a narcotic, but much stronger than aspirin.
They didn’t cure my pain, but I took them as frequently as I
had headaches. When I had a bad occurrence I’d not only try
to sleep, but would actually do deep breathing exercises while
relaxing in a dark room, meditating so to speak. If I could get
a rhythm it often lowered my blood pressure, and I’d fall
asleep.

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