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ILLNESS AND LACK OF MEDICINES

My grandmother was 90 and not quite able to grasp the reason for why the shops contained almost nothing, but she was a quiet accepting little lady and accepted that this had to be our way of life. She ate the same amount as we did and at her age should have been having nourishing food as she was active and walked out each day for exercise. When she became ill through lack of nourishment and had to stay in bed, my mother gave her each day half of my pint of milk which I was allowed as a child. Then the doctor came to hear of what she was doing and said that this must not be — I was growing and had my life before me — Gran had had her life.

This must have been a terrible decision for my parents to make — to sacrifice one member of the family for another. Gran died peacefully in her sleep in her 90th year, just 3 months before the war ended. Her 4 sisters in England lived well into their 90s and I am sure Gran would have done so too if she had not been so ill-nourished.
KAYE LE CHEMINANT

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