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Show Kathleen Norris Says: Rheumatic Fever Stalks Children Bell Syndicate. WNU Feature! ! "I knoiv he was the right doctor because he said at once tliat it was rheumatic fever, that it would touch her heart ..." CARE HELPS Rheumatic fever, an innocuous, in-nocuous, harmless-sounding phrase has been nicknamed the great "National Killer" because of the fearful ravages rav-ages it has made upon America's children. Most mothers are prone to regard the disease lightly, unaware of the tragic consequences conse-quences which may residt if adequate counter - measures are not talcen promptly. Miss Noriis illustrates the seriousness of proper care with a sad tale of two children chil-dren who were afflicted with rheumatic fever. Such useless tragedies are preventable. They are preventable pre-ventable by mothers who must realize the stark seriousness seri-ousness of rheumatic fever. It is 32 times more prevalent preva-lent than polio, and children's chil-dren's deaths from whooping whoop-ing cough, meningitis, measles, meas-les, diphtheria and scarlet fever all combined, don't amount to more than a fraction frac-tion of the deatlis from damaged dam-aged hearts. Good health is a valuable asset. In monetary terms no price can be placed on it. It is incalculable. To preserve it, we must exercise necessary neces-sary care and reasonable precautions. By KATHLEEN NORRIS THIS is a true story about the children in our family ; my telling it will show you how much in earnest I am about the great national killer, for I don't often get so personal. About 20 years ago, an 8-year-old girl in my nursery had a severe cold at the end of Christmas holidays. While I was worrying as to whether she ought to start back to boarding-school boarding-school or not, we took the short motor mo-tor trip from the ranch to the city apartment, and when it came time for the small girl to get out of the car, she could walk only with difficulty, diffi-culty, and she was white with pain. We got her into bed, and got the right doctor. I know he was the right doctor because he said at once that it was rheumatic fever, that it would touch her heart if we didn't take care and that she must stay in bed, not leaving the bed for baths, changes of linen or anything else for six weeks. We followed these hard rules carefully, care-fully, the little girl became well, and is now a happy wife and mother. The instant the doctor diagnosed her case, I telephoned the neighbor who had shared our holidays, and whose two children had also had the heavy colds and the mysterious sharp pains in legs and stomach. But this neighbor was a happy-go-lucky soul who believed that children will do anything to get out of a return to school, and she packed them off with no further thought. They took a cold bus ride, sat on school benches, idled about the playground in recess and presently the small girl was seriously ill. For two years she was invalided, bright red spots on her cheeks, pain off and on, danger always close. But she survived, and although not a strong woman, still is living a normal nor-mal life. Boy Drops Dead The boy seemed all right, but he dropped dead at 11 years of age, in a football game. This story is factual, and may seem unusual. But unusual is what it isn't. It is the saddest and commonest story of American childhood. It is the story of the heart trouble that touches thousands tens of thousands of lives every year, weakening, injuring in-juring hearts, making them ready for final trouble. Not as bad as the dreaded polio? Not like that? Why, it is 32 times more prevalent and more fatal than polio. For every child stricken strick-en by infantile paralysis, 32 are fatally or permanently injured by this insidious and voracious evil. Children's deaths from polio, whooping cough, meningitis, measles, diphtheria and scarlet fever all combined, com-bined, don't amount to more than a fraction of the deaths from injured hearts. And this is not 'to say that in the end, inasmuch as the heart stops beating at death, all disease and death come from the heart. No, this is specific and localized trouble with the organ itself. Considering all this, why do so many mothers strain their energies and incomes to the limit, on schools, amusements, clothes for the children and overlook the pitfall right at their feet, that pitfall that is dug by the heavy cold, the touch of rheumatic fever and the ignorant neglect? The minute you hear, from a competent pediatrician or diagnostician, that there is a "murmur" in the heart of the child you love, then that child must got straight into bed and be watched, kept warm and amused, and not allowed to suspect what you fear, until you know that it isn't rheumatic fever. Cure Requires Patience The cure is slow, trying to Mother, trying to the little invalid. But a few weeks of care now may buy him a strong heart and a healthy manhood, and those are the real riches of life. Which one of us would change perfect health for a million dollars, if with that million we had to join the restricted, nervous, suffering thousands of those who have heart ailments? American Heart association has a lot of data on this subject, and full instructions as to the conditions that cause heart trouble, the symptoms to watch for, preliminary precautions and actual care. You'll find it enlightening. enlight-ening. If you will write today to the Public Affairs committee of American Ameri-can Heart Association, 22 E. 38th street, New York 16, N. Y., you'll be sent reading matter that may be invaluable in-valuable to you and those you love. Of course, the grown-ups get their share of heart sickness, too, but if we start with the children we'll get to them eventually. This article began be-gan with a personal story, and I'll end it with another, also absolutely true. More than 30 years ago, a severe case of tonsilitis laid me low with arthritis; for 10 months I could not move without help. The suffering was severe, and when diet, comparative compara-tive youth and a good constitution brought me out of that trouble, I was left with an impaired heart. For four months I had to neglect home, baby, typewriter, everything, lie flat and live on a rigid diet. It was unbelievably hard and depressing. depress-ing. But that was in 1917, and except ex-cept for one short bout of surgery, I have not since spent two consecutive consecu-tive days in bed with illness. "... but he dropped dead ..." |