My Grandmother Kept Four Children Alive Through the 1918 Pandemic

I have so many questions

I never heard the stories of the Spanish flu. It was glossed over in family stories, a side note, as unremarkable as the fact that Nana (my grandmother) was born during the blizzard of 1888.

The stories shared by my mother and grandmother never seemed to focus on the tragedies, but rather, always had the triumphs at their core. The arrival of my 14-year-old great grandmother from Ireland with her 12-year-old sister, on what my mom called a “cattle boat”; my father throwing nails on the road and then repairing the flat tires that ensued; mama (my mother) “rushing the growler” upstairs during prohibition, and the hilarity of the time the cat fell in the bathtub gin — these were the stories I heard of the good old, bad old days.

Still, the hardships sometimes snuck through. My mother would tell a story about her father taking the children for a walk during the depression and stopping outside the bakery window to smell the fresh bread. Mama could never understand why he did that. She would wonder aloud, “Didn’t he know our stomachs were growling because we didn’t have enough to eat?”

My dad said little about his years in the Merchant Marines during the war, other than to share recipes he learned as a cook on a ship. (I still make his meatloaf to this day.)

One thing was always true in these stories. I come from a strong people and a long line of healers. They always had a plan, always found a way, always did what needed to be done. Nana got her nursing certificate in 1940.

She wasn’t a nurse during the pandemic; she was a mother, but clearly she was also a healer at that time, protecting her family, all of whom made it through that pandemic.

I find myself wondering, how did she keep herself and her children safe? One of her children was an infant. That infant was my mother. What did Nana do to keep her own spirits up, to manage a home with four lively girls while the world was battling a vicious virus, just as we are now?

Where did they live back then? Originally from New York, my mom was born in New Orleans, where the family had followed my grandfather who was selling shoes at the time. Were they still there, or had they returned to New York? How did they survive the economic hardships? What was it like back then? How was it the same? How was it different than now?

Sadly, both Nana and my mother have long since passed on. I can’t ask them those specific questions, or any of the others that I desperately want to know. Were they afraid? Did people come together and help one another? Did people say it was a hoax? Were they together with their families or separated by the miles, as I am now from my daughter and grandchildren?

What I can do is remember all the things she taught me about being a whole and healthy person.

When I got sick back in early March, there were no tests available locally. My doctor was fairly certain it was COVID-19, but unless things got desperate, she advised that I stay home, self-quarantine, and play it by ear. It was a scary time, and with no one to advise me, I channeled my inner healer — a warrior spirit I inherited from Nana and Mama, without whom I wouldn’t be here today.

Since that time, I’ve continued to listen to the voices of wisdom that I grew up with, keeping myself healthy. Since I wasn’t tested at the time and my antibodies test came out negative, (which may or may not be true, but even if it came out positive, it may or may not have meant I was immune) I am maintaining a sense of vigilance and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

These are the things I heard them say to my heart.

Sunlight builds strength. Although I felt like curling up into a ball and covering my head with a blanket, I went into the sun every day I could. In the first couple of days, all I could do was sit on a chair in the front yard for about a half-hour each day. As the days went by and we were blessed with beautiful weather, I began to garden, just a little. Just enough to keep me out in the sun a little longer and stretch myself, breathing the fresh air and moving my body.

Get plenty of fresh air. Even when the weather didn’t allow for sitting outside, I opened as many windows as possible during the day to air out the house. I left them open all day unless it was really cold outside, in which case I left them open for at least an hour.

Stay hydrated. I drank water and tea. Lots of herbal teas that made me feel relaxed and nurtured. Thyme tea is something I made in particular for the cough, although with honey because it doesn’t taste all that great. Seltzer was another good option and I make sure that I always had some nearby.

Use some old fashioned remedies when you cough. Ok, this one is controversial and I’m not recommending you do it, just telling you what I did. When the coughing got really bad, I drank some tablespoons of honey and lemon and whiskey. Not enough to get intoxicated — not even a shot’s worth. It helped quiet the cough for a while and also helped me get some sleep.

Eat lightly but stay nourished. While I was sick I ate lots of fruits and vegetables and limited heavy or fatty foods. I also drank daily turmeric/lemon/apple/ginger shots which were a recommendation from my daughter, who seems to have inherited the healing gene. Since that time, I have continued to drink the turmeric shots, although not as frequently, and have also kept my food healthy, avoiding overeating or heavily processed foods. While these practices are unlikely to keep me from catching the virus, healthy practices, in general, are going to make it more likely that I will be able to resolve the virus if I haven’t already had it (or if I get it again).

Get lots of sleep. I make sure to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, even though I don’t want to sleep that much. I do it in a quiet room that is darkened and not overheated. I sleep with the windows open when possible, including opening them just a bit when it is cold out.

Stay away from crowds and from people who appear to be ill. I’ve never really liked crowds anyway. Now I am super careful to avoid crowded places. I am more likely to get injured by tripping than catching COVID from someone who is sneezing because I am so fast to get away from anyone who seems like they have a respiratory infection.

I miss Nana and my mother. They always knew the right thing to do in every situation. I’m in awe of Nana, knowing now what she must have been facing over a hundred years ago. Most of all, I’m glad I was raised by healers because there’s a lot of healing left to be done on this planet in these difficult times.