YouTube blurb for the video in this blog post:
Soundtrack from the 1990 Penny Marshall film "Awakenings" with Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Penelope Ann Miller & John Heard. Based on the true story of Dr. Oliver Sacks who, in a Bronx hospital in 1969, used a new drug in order to revive patients who had been catatonic for decades.
Such poignant movie music, especially if you know the compelling story:
My father's sister, only seven years old, died of "the aftereffects" of the Great Influenza of 1918-1920 — even though flu deaths in her age group were quite rare. Therefore, long before COVID-19 came along, I've had great interest in the award-winning film Awakenings, which depicts part of the story of institution-confined patients suffering from the 1915-1927 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, one of the aftereffects believed by some scientists to have been caused by the Great Influenza.
My family never discussed exactly the specific "aftereffects" that killed Dad's sister, and I've always wondered if she, too, had encephalitis lethargica. Perhaps Dad's didn't know; after all, he was only eight or nine years old when his sister died.
The family story I heard several times was limited to Dad's unforgettable and blunt words:
"Because of the flu outbreak, the undertaker came to the house to embalm Chrissy — and dumped the blood behind the barn."
I have always wondered if Chrissy slipped into a Parkinsonian-like catatonia similar to that shown in the film Awakenings, one of those rare films better than the book.
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ReplyDeleteI moved this comment into the "Get If Off Your Chest" open comments post.
DeleteRE: your personal story ... one of the saddest I've heard, and one that no doubt was replayed many times during that same period of time. I saw the film, but did not make the connection to the epidemic of 1918-1920. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteMustang,
DeleteCertainly it was a grim story that Dad related to me. Witnessing what he saw made an indelible impression upon him, a young boy. He and his sister Chrissy were best friends. BTW, Dad's mother worked as a nurse in the flu wards, and it was she who brought the virus home. Nothing was ever mentioned about any guilt she might have felt. Probably she didn't, though, because she was a person of strong faith.
According to my father who was old enough to remember, much of the D.C. area was on lockdown during the Grand Influenza: stores, churches, schools, social activities (even funerals), etc. And, yes, there was a lot of mask wearing. I don't know if the lockdown was government imposed or self-imposed.
The lockdown in D.C. itself was government imposed, predicated by piles of rotting bodies in the streets: when someone died of the flu, the family, or whoever, dragged the body out.
AOW thank you for sharing this personal story with us. I have read such things happened back then during that awful time. In Philadelphia tenaments people just piled their dead loved ones in their apartment on the bed and often slept next to them.
DeleteThis is a grim reminder of how far we have come, and how far we need to go. I am sorry for your family's loss. Your dad's bluntness is something we need more of today. My dad too was blunt as were many of that era. If it were not for that type of candor there may be many things we would not know to this day.
Layla Elizabeth,
DeleteOur dads were of a generation of frank realists. No euphemisms for them!
I never realized there was a link... I thought it was simply a more serious case of Parkinsons.
ReplyDeleteWhat a compelling story. I never heard of the movie, and when I see it now it will mean so much more after your post.
ReplyDeleteBAYSIDER
Baysider,
DeleteYou must watch the film Awakenings! I guarantee that you will like it.
Thanks for the information. I had no idea.. We can wonder what those who get non-vacinated COVID - long haul.. will ultimately end up with.
ReplyDeleteBunkerville,
DeleteWe can wonder what those who get non-vacinated COVID - long haul.. will ultimately end up with.
And also what the long-term effects of the "vaccines" might be.
What an amazing story, and I remember that when I discovered Randy Newman, I was angry that nobody had drawn my attention to him before. He's a giant.
ReplyDeleteJez,
DeleteRandy Newman is a genius! I love many of the songs he wrote.