 |  | | Evelyn Paul — Perth, ON |
| | | I was diagnosed with Addison's Disease in December of l953, when I was 15 years old. I was very fortunate to have a mother who was a nurse and a family doctor who was very good at diagnosing illnesses.
I was living on a farm at the time; I was very weak and had very dark skin (sound familiar?). I was sent to the Civic Hospital in Ottawa and was cared for there by an internal medicine specialist for three weeks. I came home a new person.
The discovery of cortisone had only happened a few years before this, so again I was very lucky because I could receive this treatment. I was prescribed cortisone pills, large red-coated salt pills and a monthly injection of another form of cortisone. Since we lived in the country, I boarded in Carleton Place during the winter and took the school bus to high school in the fall and spring. This meant that I (at age 15) was responsible for taking my own medication regularly. My sister was a nurse and so she was able to give me my injections. I used to wonder why my mother was always asking me if I had my pills with me. Now that I have had teenage children, I understand!! All of this happened before any kind of OHIP, so my hospital care and medication must have been a big financial strain on my parents since I am one of six children. However, they never made me feel upset about this aspect of my care.
One of the things I remember about those years was not being able to talk to anyone who had this condition, and wondering why I had to go through this. The first time I had the flu and was vomiting, we didn't realize that I needed to go to the hospital. I ended up unconscious, and thus became the second person to be admitted to the new Carleton Place Hospital. After the IV treatment, I was fine. And I never had that happen again.
When we had the first meeting of the Addison's Society at our house in Perth, it was like a dream come true to be sitting in a room with five other people, who, as one doctor said, "You are a very select group".
When my doctor came into that hospital room 52 years ago to tell me I had Addison's Disease, he said to me "You are not an invalid and don't ever let anyone make you one". I guess that advice has stayed with me over the years as I have been able to have three children, now five grandchildren, have lived in three provinces, been married to a minister for 43 years, have a teaching career and a good life.
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