In 1978, it was my turn to become ill. One evening after eating supper, I became ill and suffered from serious pain. After resting, it improved, but then it would occur quite often. I went to a doctor who thought that I was suffering from indigestion. I felt better, and was happy that nothing serious was wrong. Then it happened again. I was teaching my class when all of a sudden I experienced excruciating pain and had to go home. This time I visited Doctor O’Brien who advised me that I must have my gall bladder removed. It was just a week before Christmas when I returned home from the hospital, so Dianne and Patsy had an opportunity to learn how to bake.

I had a very enjoyable Christmas that year. I was unable to do anything, so everyone took the opportunity to wait on me instead. The community spirit was overwhelming. Many of the neighbors came to visit and brought food. It made one feel how great it was to be an Islander.

Two months later I was back in the classroom. I was pleased with my recovery, and happy to be back to work with my students once more.

One year later sickness plagued our household again. This time it was Joe. It had been a wet fall, so Joe was delayed in cleaning the combine. It was a disagreeable task because the grain had heated and it contained mildew.

A short time later, Joe had chills and became quite sick. He tried to treat himself with home remedies, but there was no improvement. He went to see Doctor MacMillian in Charlottetown who admitted him to the Charlottetown Hospital at once. He was suffering from pneumonia and was very sick.

I was very upset as I drove home from Charlottetown that day. What was I going to do with all those cows that needed to be fed and to be milked? The feeding was bad enough, but the milking, well, that was something else. I was not brought up on a farm, and did not want to go near the cows. In fact, I was scared of them.

I arrived home to tell the children that they were all going to be farmers for awhile. Kevin had been exposed to the milking process, but he was attending university in Guelph, Ontario at the time.

That evening, we all marched to the barn, and after a few kicks, we managed to get the milking machines on the cows and extracted as much

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