Life Story of Dorothy Evelyn McRae Keller, tenth installment

Sheila Rae was born on 5 June 1951 and we were so proud of our two sons and two daughters. Another son, Ralph Eugene was born on 18 July 1952. When we found we had another boy, my husband wanted to name him Ralph. I said, “Won’t that be a little confusing?” He said, “To who”, so our third son was named Ralph Eugene.

When I found that I was going to have another child, I was overwhelmed and felt like I couldn’t do this again so soon. I wrote to my Aunt Delia Winsor (who had fourteen children) and told her how I felt. She sympathized with me and said that she had felt the same way many times, but found each one was a blessing in disguise. During this time I was in the temple one day and was aware of an elderly woman seated beside me. I looked at her hands and they were just like my Grandma’s hands and I knew Grandma was very close to me. I knew that everything would be all right. Sarah Ann was born on 3 September 1954 and really has proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Our last girl, Donna Leah (named for a dear, beautiful cousin who had died of tuberculosis) was born on 29 December 1955. I knew after she was born that mentally and emotionally I could not bring another child into the world. We took steps to make sure there would be no more offspring. I know now that we loved our children very much, in spite of the fact that it was a big responsibility.

Before Sarah came into our lives, I had an appointment with the doctor for a checkup. In Ajo all medical facilities were owned by Phelps Dodge. Sheila had a bad cold at the time so I took her along. After examination, the doctor asked if she had ever had Rheumatic Fever and I said not that I was aware of. There was to be a Crippled Children’s Clinic in the near future and he suggested that she be examined there. It was discovered that she had heart problems - a constriction of the aorta and a valve which didn’t close when she was born. This meant that any infection could be very risky. When Donna was ten days old, we moved to San Diego where Ralph found employment. He preceded me and some of the children and found housing for us in Lomita Village. We found a good Pediatrician and placed Sheila in his care. She would need to have surgery later when she was at least ten years old.

Things went well and we were happy in our new location. Marlene, John and Reed were enrolled in school (Reed being in the second grade). John was playing with a neighbor boy one day and he hit a golf ball with a club and it hit John squarely in the left eye. We found an excellent optomist who said that no permanent damage was done. John told me recently that he had always had some trouble with that eye and his peripheral vision was not as good as it should be. To get back to Reed, his 2nd grade teacher sent a note home one day that we should have his eyes examined. We took him to this same doctor and told me he was amazed that Reed had learned anything in school as his vision was very impaired. He prescribed glasses for our little boy.

I felt so guilty that I had not known about his problem and wrote a note to that teacher, thanking her for her concern. When we returned to get the glasses, the doctor said that I should notice his reaction when he saw the neighborhood while he wore the glasses. He said he would see things that he didn’t know were there. This was true and thereafter, he was never without his glasses. Thank goodness for caring teachers.

Sheila entered Kindergarten at the age of five and she was not very happy to leave home for school. One day when she did not show up at school, I searched and found her hiding in the alley behind our house - she was miserable at school. This was taken care of and when she was in first grade (remember I still had three little ones at home) it was decided that she should have the surgery soon. The evidence of the problem was nose bleeds in the night and shortness of breath. In the winter of 1957, her daddy and I took her to the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles for her surgery. Grandma Keller stayed with the other six while I spent about a week while Sheila was in the hospital.

After the surgery before I went into the room to see her, they told me she would be almost in a coma as they had to bring her temperature down to slow her heart rate. When I walked into that room, she was in an oxygen tent and fighting to get out. There was no need for alarm as she was very active. They tried to feed her cooked liver for nourishment. She was wearing a red gown and fighting with the nurses about eating the liver. Her face was almost as red as her gown. Was she ever a spunky little girl! Her daddy came to take us home and it was good to be back with my family again. I have often laughed about Grandma Keller. As I remember, she preferred children she could read to rather than babies. When we came home, she was gone within a half hour.

Two months after the surgery we returned for the surgeon to check her over. Her blood pressure was absolutely normal, which the doctor said was amazing. She did very well from that time on. She was out of school for a while and a teacher was sent several days a week for her to be home taught. The Lord really blessed us to have our family whole again.

Link: Life Story of Dorothy Evelyn McRae Keller, eleventh installment