Letter transcription:

St. Elizabeth Hospital
June 3, 1943

Dear Daddy –

Well here we are – Mark is sleeping – went thru his tonsillectomy in fine shape. Has thrown up some but has been very good – There is a little girl in the next bed who went up to surgery following Mark and she has been having herself a, the nurses and her mother a time. She has quieted down now but cried and tossed about an hour after she came down. After we got the blankets off Mark, he turned over on his stomach and went to sleep. The nurse said that was the best thing for him to do. – We are in Pediatrics and as usual there is a lot of activity, but I would rather be here than in a large room. Dr. Cole said he thought we could take Mark home tomorrow. We came down last night and I spent the night at Klines. Helen doesn’t know where Dan is now, but says he is on board ship somewhere. Gertrude came over to the hospital with me and stayed until they brought Mark back to the room. A friend of hers was waiting for her girl (the above mentioned)

[page 2] I will go home this evening and come back tomorrow & get Mark. Dr. Cole came in to see him before he left. Said there wasn’t much adnoid but that the tonsils were bad. I was pretty sure of that from the way he had been feeling. I will try and find a funny book for him to look at when [change from ink to pencil] he feels like looking at something – Pardon the change in writing, but the pen went dry and rather than bother to refill it will finish with pencil. Mark brought this and paper along to draw with. I tried to tell him he wouldn’t feel like doing anything but he couldn’t believe me. Dr. Romberger came in to see him. I told him Mark thought he was coming on a picnic. He said, “Mrs. Y. I am ashamed of you, telling him that.” I said I hadn’t told him anything of the kind. He said to give “Roscoe” his regards. Said his son is in India.

It is hot today and I have to wear a white hospital gown over my dress and I am getting warmer all the time. The window by Mark’s bed has to be closed so I can’t get much help from the breeze. There seems to be a good wind today.

[page 3] After all the rain, summer seems to have come all at once and hot. We have taken off David’s clothes and he now wears a sun suit.

I went out to see Lucile Burgee’s baby girl – she had shirt, flannel gown, flannel diaper and long stockings on her. She looks like the Burgees. They are living in the house Reynolds made out of their store. Lucile said Gerhart would have to go for a physical in Aug.

John, Mark and the two older Zell girls have been playing croquet a lot between rains. They said the season would officially open Sat., but I told them Mark wouldn’t be able to play then, so don’t know when they intend to open “formally.”

I am going to try and keep Mark quiet for a while. He has several model airplanes to work on so I think that will hold him for a while. Since he got a bike I told him he couldn’t get a new horn, but he didn’t care. Said he would rather have a bike. I have been trying to get a better piano

[page 4] for John but so far haven’t succeeded. Ours can’t be tuned up right, but I won’t get another one till I can do better than we have now.

Mark has been awake and had a piece of ice but it made him spit so didn’t want more than two pieces – is asleep again. The little girl in the next bed is crying again – her mother left her for a while, to go home and get lunch.

I don’t know what the mail is today if any, but haven’t rec’d the $100⁰⁰ ck. yet. Maybe it’s there now. You will be ready to spend more for clothes by the time we get that all in the bank. I think the idea of the new color in uniforms is good – I believe that will be better looking than khaki, at least you won’t be mistaken for Army.

Mrs. Zell is coming down to shop today and is going to leave one of their girls to ride home with me so I won’t have to drive alone. I want to stay with Mark as long as I can.

Hope you have the seed by now.

Love Mother

© 2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
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