To my children
Whooping cough is one of the most contagious illnesses among children. In Korea, it has been reduced since the introduction of DTaP vaccination in 1980’s. It causes hard-to-stop coughing. When I was young, they used to call it “100 days cough.” It lasted long time.
It was before the whooping cough vaccination was available in Korea. I believe my brother got it first, then, I got it. My grandma made tea with dried herbs and made us drink it. It was supposed to cure the whooping cough. We hated it. It was bitter.
Maybe because of the whooping cough, I lost the appetite and was not eating well. One day, grandma brought home a grilled corn on the cob from the market. Women used to go the market every afternoon to buy stuff for the dinner. She split it into two, gave me the big one, and gave my brother a smaller piece. My brother had a generous heart. He still does even now. Grandma said that she would give me a bigger one since I was not eating well. He did not complain.
We used to eat steamed corns. The grilled corn was so good. I gulped it down in minutes. I remember I got my appetite back after that day.
By my calculation, it probably happened later. Nevertheless, I have a memory of another event that day.
After we finished our corns, my brother and I laid down and asked grandma to measure our heights. Since I could not stand up, the only way to measure our heights was to put our foot against the wall and laid down. She touched our head and said to my brother, “Your brother, Don, is still taller.” But I felt something was different in her voice.
After my brother went home, (I used to live with my grandparents.) I asked her if I was really taller. She said actually he was little bit taller. My polio slowed down my lower extremity growth and my back had started to curve. Of course, he was taller than me. I knew I would never be taller than him again.
We have not measured our heights again since then. I know he is still taller than me. And he also has a bigger pot belly.