A
story Mom liked to tell about her Dad, Henry Hislop, concerned his health.
Just
after Mom was born, in the mid-1930s, Grandpa Hislop got sick. He seemed very lethargic, absolutely no
energy at all. Being in a small town in
the middle of the Depression, there wasn’t a whole lot of money for doctor
bills. So, Henry talked around with
friends and neighbors to self-diagnose.
Well somehow, with the help of his neighbors, he concluded that there
must be something wrong in his mouth. Someone
convinced him he needed to remove all of his teeth. Well Grandpa went to the dentist and had all
of his teeth pulled out. I hope he got
dentures, but Mom never mentions this detail in the story.
Well,
the trip to the dentist didn’t cure what ailed him. He was still lethargic, always tired and no
desire to really do anything. Keep in
mind, this condition was very odd for Henry Hislop. In all of the stories I have read and heard,
this was a man that enjoyed hard work.
This was a man that when he was nearing 60 years old helped build the
local church. He got down in the trench
to dig. He worked in the cold to lay
brick and mortar into place. He enjoyed
manual labor. For him to feel lethargic
was a sign of something serious.
Unfortunately
the diagnosis of pulling his teeth didn’t work.
He seemed forever tired. Finally,
the family persuaded him to travel the fifteen miles down the canyon from the
small town of Huntsville, to a doctor in the larger town of Ogden, Utah. A simple visit to the doctor and he diagnosed
with anemia. He was given pills to add
to his diet and his energy quickly returned.
He was back to enjoying his work in a very short time.
After
this episode with his teeth, Henry Hislop lived another 20 more years. Forever working hard and seemingly enjoying
it all.
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