Vesta, she is a hypochondriac. I know her, I also know that my dad takes her to the doctor all the time and there is never anything wrong with her. Instead of being happy and glad she has lived to be 98 and never had a serious illness she is convinced she has/had every single illness that everyone else has had. Including my disease, Takayasu Arteritis. She has been this way all her life.
Beg, 98 is some long time to live and watch the changes in life.
So She came into he world in 1914 or so. By the time she was 10 yeas old she had seen the epidemics Carry off children half her age, Woman that died in childbirth or died due to what was called Milk Fever, or sepsis from the incomplete removal of after birth.
She lived in the era that males who returned from war brought home Syphilis, Clap, to pass it on to their wives who did no know they were infected.
Tetanus, food poisoning, even an infected boil or tooth abscess could and did cause death. Botulism and even some canned goods where the manufacture used lead to weld the cans air tight, as discovered as most likely the cause of some Arctic expeditions in that time to perish for until now unknown reasons.
What a life granted by the grace of God she has seen. Allergies to a bee sting, or some type of food, Gout, diabetes and everything under the sun, some how she and others survived bad well water, or in the city's sewers that ran down stream into the drinking water.
I wonder how old she was when she got her first pap smear, breast exam, first given antibiotics, tetanus shot, was given the test for TB, full blood work done ???
Darn BEG, she in 98 years beat the odds against disease, chemicals, poisons, and accidents. She has all new things to worry about today, drug recalls, food recalls, super infectious diseases that do not respond to antibiotics. Even the OJ she drinks may be contaminated with pesticide.
Please Beg, give this Grand Old Lady a break, at that age seeing what she has in 98 years, she is doing everything to stay alive another year. Seems like she still has her mental capacity to fight for her life. Her body is running down, the clock is ticking, she cannot be healthy as a 80 year old, at this time even a splinter that becomes infected can carry her away.
My Mom at 90 has skin so thin just a scrape will open sores that can become infected, She heads for the Doctors for help, it must hurt like hell to have skin peeled off the body.
Have to realise that at 98, all her childhood friends, people that remember her as a young bride or even as grandmother have passed on. Her children are growing old themselves and not remember her friends or herself at a far away time. Sad, this was the lament of my grandmother. " Every one I know today is someone I met when I was an old lady. "
