Fever Season by Eric Zweig

up, too. One big problem was there weren’t nearly enough doctors and nurses for everyone. So many medical people had been needed for the war and were still in Europe. Many of the doctors and nurses who were at home to treat the Spanish Flu caught the disease themselves from their patients. Nuns and priests helped out. So did Jewish and Protestant organizations. But there still weren’t enough caregivers to go around.
    Early on Dr. Boucher had told the newspapers: “The best thing to do when a person is sick is to stay at home and call a doctor.” But just a few days later the newspapers were telling people to use their telephones as little as possible. So many operators had become sick it was impossible for the phone company to handle all the calls.
    That meant that even though the Spanish Flu was a deadly disease, many people were forced to care for their own sick relatives by themselves at home. Newspapers offered advice on what to do:
    People should be kept in well-lit rooms. Other family members should not enter except when absolutely necessary.
    Opening and closing doors set up currents of air that carry germs. It is better to leave the door of the sick room open. Hang a sheet moistened with bleach in the opening.
    The person attending the patient should wear an apron with sleeves. The apron should be removed when leaving so as not to carry away germs. Wash your face and hands after touching a patient.
    All the linen and other things belonging to the patient should either be burnt or boiled for at least fifteen minutes.
    There were no vaccines to prevent the Spanish Flu. There was no sure way to cure it, either. The only thing to do was to try not to catch it. Newspapers offered advice on that, too:
    Avoid persons suffering from colds, sore
throats, and coughs.
Cough in a handkerchief or behind your
hand.
Avoid cold rooms.
Sleep and work in fresh, clean air.
Eat plain, nourishing food.
Avoid alcohol.
Change handkerchiefs frequently.

    By the beginning of November, things finally seemed to be settling down. “We have fewer deaths,” Dr. Boucher told the newspapers, “and I hope the death rate will keep on decreasing. Still, I advise the public to continue to take the same precautions. It is absolutely necessary to observe these precautions in order to prevent a revival of the epidemic.”
    November 2 was a Saturday. David and Alice spent the whole day with their mother. Wearing their masks to be careful, they all went out for a short time to shop for food. Later, their mother showed Alice how to work the sewing machine.
    â€œSit here beside me and pump the treadle,” their mother told Alice. “You have to keep it moving smoothly. Heel and toe. Heel and toe. Almost like you’re pedalling a bicycle.”
    Once Alice got the hang of it, their mother placed a piece of cloth under the presser. She hadn’t set up the needle and thread yet. First she wanted Alice to get used to moving the cloth with her hands while she pumped the treadle.
    â€œJust push it under gently,” their mother said.
    â€œYou don’t have to pull it out the other end. Once you get a rhythm going, the machine practically moves the cloth for you.”
    When Alice was ready, their mother put the spool in place. It had to be wound carefully through a lot of different parts, and finally through the eye of the needle. It looked complicated, but their mother could set up a sewing machine almost in her sleep.
    At first Alice was doing quite well, but later she seemed to lose her rhythm. The cloth was sticking and she was getting the thread all tangled.
    â€œMy fingers are getting sore,” she complained.
    â€œWell, then, maybe that’s enough for your first time,” their mother said.
    David and his mother hadn’t thought it was strange that Alice’s hands had gotten tired, but later that night when they were all in bed Alice began to scream. She was having a nightmare. Their