This is a transcription of notes written by my mother, Bernice Horn, documenting her medical history. She wrote this just prior to her death in early 1968, with the intention of providing information to her descendents that might be useful in case any of them should have medical problems.
Click on the image to see a close-up of her handwriting. She was left-handed.
The footnotes are my comments.
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Bernice Horn[1] – 2-28-08
Age 1 – North Texas. Serious illness, but don’t know what. My mother called it “bloody flux”.
Age 5 – Angleton – near Houston. Whooping cough & chicken pox simultaneously. Apparently no ill effects.
Age 6 – Pnemonia. Can remember that during childhood, had chest pains when I ran in the cold. Was a comparatively thin child but snapshots don’t reveal any signs of ill health.
Age 14 – Fainted once or twice.
About age 16 – Rio Grand Valley. Can remember “sneaking” some of mother’s asthma medicine when I had indications of asthma. Didn’t want to distress her.[2]
Don’t remember about colds, etc., at this age. Did have tonsillitis, with tonsils out at age 20 (1929?)
About 18 or 19 began having colds, bronchitis, and chest infections. Have never had a “little” cold.
Kerrville –
1928 – Botullus (sic) poison from cantaloupe. Lots of rain that year; two people died in Texas from B. poison from cantaloupes that had lain in wet fields.
1930 – Had what must have been pneumonia. Went swimming at night (strictly against camp rules!) and started getting hoarse almost as soon as I got into the water. In bed a number of days.
1933 – Had severe bronchitis from walking in a “cool” wind.
1934 – age 26 – Married.[3]
1936 – Had baby girl.[4] Partly breast fed – mostly bottle. Somewhere along here began having some hay fever and asthma, with asthma growing increasingly severe. Although I had no allergy tests at time, believe I was allergic to eggs, milk, & seafoods.
1939 (approximately, or maybe later) – Was anemic and took doctor’s prescription – an Upjohn preparation. Fainted once or twice. (Probably because of hypothyroidism.)
1940 – Spontaneous abortion, immediately following doctor’s examination. About a 6-week or 2-month pregnancy. (Dr. Ed Mueller, San Antonio.)
1941 – Early in year. Another spontaneous abortion while doing housework. About 6-week or 2-month pregnancy. Dr. C. B. Matthews, Kerrville. He said he believed it might have been caused by hypothyroidism but he hadn’t yet had his testing equipment installed.
Was really beginning to have asthma by now. In oxygen tent once.
July 1941 – Moved to Corpus. Began allergy treatment with Dr. Joe Pilcher (a genius) of the Terrell Laboratories. Had so many allergies that he decided to try histamine injections which he said would work wonders if it worked at all. Memory is that I received 3 shots a week at first, tapering off to 1 a week or something like that, always administered by Dr. Pilcher himself, and watched carefully by him for at least 15 minutes.
Aug 1941 – Became pregnant. Started symptoms of miscarriage. Went to Dr. Heaney (sp?). Told him of former experiences, so he did BMR[5] at once and found me -22. I started taking thyroid extract and symptoms of miscarriage ceased in less than 24 hours.
1942 – About February. Pneumonia. Sulfa worked fine. Started with a cold, then chest infection, rubbed with Vicks, and doctor said the menthol opened up my lung passages for the spread of the infection. (?) This is probably when I had pericarditus, as I had never before had swelling in ankles.
1942 – March. Moved to Brenham. Discontinued histamine. Dr. Pilcher said I would be able to go about 2 ½ years without it. Went 3.
1942 – April – Had severe mumps. (Still pregnant!) Vomited 12 days, developed secondary anemia, hospitalized, and the doctors ran to begin intravenous feeding, and get blood transfusion typed & started. (This was before the Rh factor had been discovered. Wasn’t I lucky?)
May 27, 1942 – Had baby boy.[6] No complications. Bottle fed. Doctor said no more children. Better stop & raise the ones I had. Wanted 4, darn it!
Had pneumonia once while in Brenham, just from walking across cold floor after bath; probably about winter of 1942. Think I quit taking thyroid after son was born.
Jan. 1944 – moved to Fort Worth. Started treatment again for asthma sometime between 1944 & 1945. Terrell Laboratories, but doctor decided he didn’t want to continue Dr. Pilcher’s histamine treatment, but gave me something “just as good” (never believe that phrase). After months of this, I finally persuaded him to try the histamine, which he did – without referring to the dosage on my chart which Dr. Pilcher had sent. Within moments I had violent asthma, he sat there white-faced, and I had to gasp to the nurse to get some adrenalyn! I won’t name this doctor; he had been a school teacher & decided to become a doctor. When he finally looked at my chart, he was amazed to find that all I needed was 1/6th of a child’s dose. Anyway, he continued the histamine treatment at Dr. Pilcher’s dosage.
During this period of time, my weight went to 124, and I could hardly drag my body around. Finally got the bright idea of having another BMR and was -23. Taking thyroid increased my energy. Also had pneumonia during this period, too. Was doing all of housework, laundry, sewing, etc., because of war.
About 1946 had some aliment that was diagnosed as asthma, but which I later decided was nervous exhaustion. Felt fine as long as I lay perfectly stil, but as soon as I moved, my heart raced, and I gasped for breath. ??? In bed about two weeks.
Under terrific strain for several reasons during this period: one child to keep in school, one child with asthma and croup, and husband beginning to show effects of his final illness.
May 1947 – moved to San Antonio. Weight down to 101. Cant remember about asthma during this period, but had some.
Between May 1947 and July 1954 had
1. Two or three bladder infections. [Dr.] Al Rath.
2. Xray of kidneys which showed floating right kidney. Dr. recommended medical girdle. The alternative was to gain 25 lbs. I gained 23 and it worked!
Nov. 1952 – Had pneumonia. Al Rath.
Nov. 1952 – Broke left arm & sprained thumb. Hospitilized. [7]
1953 – Had “mixed tumor” in maxillary gland. Dr. Crews removed maxillary gland. No recurrence.
Had some attacks of pain on several occasions. Finally one severe attack which hurt in area of heart (patient’s geography; not doctor’s) with pain down left arm. Attack began in early evening while doing yardwork. Heart action seemed normal, as went on to bed. Pain lasted until about 4 am. Ceased abruptly. Called Dr. next day. Dr. Rath said obviously diaphragmatic hernia, and to bend from hips and never “collapse” area of diaphragm. Works fine.
Began to show great discomfort in stomach or duodenal area upon taking aspirin.
Have never since been able to take aspirin without milk, 7-up, or similar.
July 1954 – Went back to office work.
Dec. 21, 1954 – Husband died.
June 1955 – Accepted position in Kerrville. [8]
Can no longer count the colds and complications. C. B. Matthews – Two attacks of diverticulitis. Hospitalized both times.
July 1958 – Mastectomy. [Dr.] Rush Crews. Xray treatment.
Dec. (Nov. ?) 1958 – Hysterectomy. [Dr.] Rush Crews.
Began having acute soreness in neck muscles and what seemed to be a sore throat but no difficulty in swallowing.
Dr. C. B. Matthews gave one shot of trypsin (I am practically sure of this – anyway, an enzyme) on Thursday, another Tuesday, and another Thursday. Went into anaphylactic shock with last.* Unconcious – “blue feet”, hives. Treatment: alternate adrynalyn (sic) & benadryl shots, then 50 mg benadryl tablets for 3 or 4 weeks. *Medical book said “no known reaction.” Dr. Matthews then made very weak skin test for house dust allergy on arm, to which I reacted promptly with red spot an inch or more in diameter.
Dr. Russell – Started shots of house dust extract, with histamine for any other allergies, & vitamin B12. Now get these every three weeks, driving to K[errville] for this.
June 1962 – Returned to my old job in S.A. Worked very hard and got pretty tired.
Dec. 1962. Had severe throat & chest infection with relapse. Have never been quite as strong since that time.
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Several colds, etc.
March 1966 – Had another chest deal. Pretty sick.
April 1966 – Noticed for the first time a “difference” in my breathing.
June 1966 –Dr. Crews for Xray. He said some fibrosis in left lung from Xray, and asked for another Xray in 6 weeks, then changed it to 3 months. Asked Dr. Jones to go by and look at Xray, but he said later that he had radiologist send him his report.
Oct. 1966 – Another Xray and report to Dr. Crews.
About this time had another severe chest condition, asked Bonham[9] to go by & look at Oct. Xray. He settled for radiologist’s report.
Beginning to be conscious occasionally that breathing not exactly right.
Spring of 1967 – Breath getting short. None of trips to doctor revealed anything wrong. By vacation time, climbing steps a slow process, had one or two attacks of severe breathlessness, always breathless after any amount of exertion. O.K. as long as remained seated. Took plane trip to Houston and Tulsa. Also a flight over Tulsa in small non-pressurized plane with no complications.[10]
August 1967 – Breathing became very hard from any exertion. (also having occasional spells at night severe coughing and pseudo asthma – sometimes for 2-5 hours) Went to Xray lab, had Xray, went immediately to Dr. Jones, and he called radiologist, got report and immediately referred me to Dr. Roof who hospitalized me and did lung “tap” in room.
Diagnosis: Residual infection from perhaps “silent pneumonia.”
Relief for awhile, then began severe nightly spells of coughing and pseudo-asthma, with sitting-leaning-forward position only comfortable position. Would finally knock myself out with sleeping pills and sleep lying flat, which could never do with real asthma.
Finally went to Dr. Jones, got “wheezing medicine” cough capsules, and advice that part of this was a fatigue factor.
October – Called Dr. Roof and suggested that he have another Xray. By this time was really desperate, but still working (concealing the fact that I couldn’t breathe) –
The rest you know.[11]
Bronchoscopy – siphoning – and diagnosis.[12]
Migrane headaches –
Acute sinus – 1945 (?) Lost sense of smell for 3 mos.
Have not regained complete sense of smell since
opp--tion –[13]
Treatment for arm –[14]
[1] She had no middle name. I think her father’s name was Albert Gallatin Love.
[2] From what I remember, her mother seems to have suffered with depression, and maybe bipolar disorder.
[3] John Henry Horn, Jr. from McAllen, TX.
[4] My sister, Anne Bernice Horn.
[5] Basil Metabolism Rate.
[6] That would be me.
[7] This had to do with a small wood bookcase which had been left leaning against the fence in the back yard, next to the clotheslines. For some reason, I had knocked it over and left it lying on the ground under the clotheslines. When mom went out after dark to bring in the clothes, she fell over the bookcase and broke her arm. She was pretty mad at me, as I remember.
[8] Secretary of the President of Schreiner Institute.
[9] Dr. Bonham Jones
[10] I took her for this plane ride – I had just gotten my pilot’s license the year before.
[11] She died of lung cancer not long after writing this.
[12] Lung cancer.
[13] "operation" - hard to decipher her writing here.
[14] I think this refers to the fact that the lymph nodes were removed from her left arm when she had mastectomy in 1958. This caused continual swelling in her arm. She usually kept it wrapped with Ace bandage.
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