20 Dec 1942, Barbara Anslow's diary
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No news about the parcels and cards we sent in yesterday for despatch to Shamshuipo.
Visited Pat Cullinan ((Police, TB patient in hospital)) He's now caught malaria. He said how wonderful Dr Y-E had been to him, (and to M. Manning and C. Coull, both also Police in hospital with TB). That either he, or Marcus Manning or C. Coull had some complaint when Mark made his morning rounds. He's fed up at getting malaria, as it's another bother for Dr Y-E. "I don't mind, I can take it." So brave of him. I didn't stay long, he has loads of visitors and they were lining up. Pat had been having APT treatment every week for about a year before our war, he said there was a time when he thought he was for the next world, but Dr Y-E pulled him through.
Mabel and I went for a tramp this evening to collect a 'Yule log'! Only managed a few twigs. We went to see Billie Gill, Brian already in bed, so sweet.
Elsie Bidwell came in evening to have slacks fitted ((Mum and Mabel and Mrs K helped people to adapt clothes.))
Comments
APT
I'd thought APT meant "Advanced Pulmonary Tuberculosis", as that's the only meaning related to tuberculosis I could find on the web. But Barbara thinks it had a different meaning in 1942:
I don't think APT as used in the 1940's meant Adv. Pulm. Tubercu: my memory suggests the treatment involved drawing off something from the lungs of the patient with a sort of syringe needle. The policeman Pat Cullinan told me one day when he came back from the French Hospital after treatment, that 'the needle' had broken during the procedure that time, Pat said he didn't mind for himself, but he minded because Dr Y-E felt badly about it happening.
Towards the end of internment, Pat (an RC) got married to an RC friend of mine, Sheila Haynes, an Australian. I was at their wedding etc. After release, Pat & Sheila went to Australia but so sadly Pat died after a year or two.