Well, yesterday turned out to be quite a busy day.  We had twenty seven dogs, which left no time in my eleven hour work day for anything other than crowd control, poop patrol and noise management.  Lots of terriers always means lots of barking (they just don't know they are little and feel the need to challenge everyone!).  We were light on the pit bulls, which made the day a bit easier.  The pitties tend to keep the energy level up all day, thus the usual breaks in activity are interrupted by their very enthusiastic romping (much to the dismay of the older pooches, who look forward to their afternoon snooze!).  After work was total chaos, as hubby and I tried to squeeze in dinner, only to be interrupted by our son, who texted to say that crew had ended early.  Here's hoping today will be an easier day!

This morning's examination of the ECPH hospital records yielded this notation in the record of a 43 year old woman who had suffered from chorea (a convulsive disorder) for twelve years:

CASE OF XXX, OCT 43.  HAS HAD FIVE CHILDREN.  ALL DEAD BUT ONE.  THREE DIED OF CHOREA.  HER MOTHER HAD IT AND DIED WITH IT.  ALSO HER GRANDMOTHER, ALSO MOTHERS SISTER WHO DIED WITH THE DISEASE.  MOTHER'S SISTER'S CHILDREN HAD IT-SEVERAL OF WHOM DIED WITH IT.  IN FACT NEARLY ALL OF HER RELATIVES ON HER MOTHERS SIDE HAVE HAD THE SAME DISEASE. I am struck by several things.  The mother in me is deeply saddened by the loss of 4 out of her 5 children and fears for the future of the living child.  This woman could not have had an easy life.  It must have been terribly frightening as a child to have witnessed her mother (and perhaps her grandmother and aunt) in the throws of this disease.  The loss of her family also meant the loss of any support network to help in the raising (and loss) of her own children. As a scientist, I am impressed by the detailed family history collected by the physician who treated her.  She was admitted to the hospital on December 21, 1854, however the physician discussed her case from October of 1843.  Perhaps he had treated her over the years, through the deaths of her mother and children.  Sadly, the report is incomplete and does not record how long she was treated or when she was discharged.  Similarly, there are no details recorded on her condition as of December of 1854. This record has important implications for our research as it reveals three generations of people whose condition may have resulted in periods when they were unable to work and in need of institutional relief.  This woman was listed as a laborer, and likely had few specialized skills.  There is no mention of husbands or fathers in the record, so any spousal support is uncertain.  We will be following this trail, as we are our German friends from Boden, so stay tuned!