Nonna Bida

During one of her visits to our home, my grandmother became ill. First it looked like a simple cold, Then the doctor upgraded it to bronchitis. But nonna Vittoria was getting sicker and sicker.

After examining her one day, Dr. El Masry was worried; he tried to keep a poker face, but my grandmother and my mother were not fooled.

When he left, he closed the door of the room. “Why are you closing the door,” exclaimed my grandmother. “It’s because of the cigarette smoke ya setti Vittoria,” he replied. When he sat with my parents, he told them that he suspected pneumonia. Pneumonia has been called the old person’s friend. But my grandmother was still relatively young and healthy. She didn’t need a friend like that! This applied to a very old individual with a lingering disease(s).

However, there was good news. A new drug, really a miracle drug had just become available in Egypt. Its name was penicillin. But there was a drawback, it had to be injected every 4 hours.

My dad had learned from his cousin how to give injections, but he obviously could not come back from work to administer the medication. Both the doctor and Nisso looked at my mother. Would she be willing to learn? And learn she did. We now had 2 members in the family who could give injections.

Penicillin did work miracles, and my grandmother recovered and went on to live for many more years.

When we went to Israel, my parents informed uncle Maurice that they could, if necessary, give injections. But uncle Maurice was horrified, “no, no, you can’t do that in Israel. Only doctors and nurses are allowed to give injections.” My parents remarked that this was a strange country; but otherwise, willingly, never used that particular skill again.

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