No, we didn’t just open a trunk and find a surprise from Mother. It’s just an expression used by Scandinavians to complain about joint pain, which seems to be a gene passed on through generations. Sometimes genes carry the predisposition to certain ailments and diseases. The Russian Royals are an example of this. Too many intermarriages produced hemophilia. A scratch shortened the lifeline of the Romanov Prince.
People have become more aware of preventative medicine lately. TV doctors push the idea of early detection giving patients a better chance of survival. Sounds like a good idea, time will tell. Anyway, the result is people are trying to find out if their ancestors had certain health issues. It has become a major reason why some people start a family tree. Doctors at Pioneer Medical Center have an extensive list of diseases and cancers they want to know if you or your parents and grandparents had. People have asked me if someone has collected medical information on their family tree. The answer is yes. The problem is government HIPPA laws prevent access to even family members. The result is that public tree databases don’t promote collection of medical data for fear of lawsuits. Individual members can post family documents such as stories or even copies of death certificates with cause of death. Those documents are not controlled by the website. Obituaries can be a good source of cause of death or long-term illnesses. Just be aware that the information may not be from a doctor’s diagnosis. Even old coroners’ reports had ambiguous terms like ABLEPSY, AGUE, APOPLEXY, BARREL FEVER [alcoholism], GRIPPE, DROPSY, and CADUCEUS. The best suggestion I have to you is, be bold about asking living family members about cancers, heart problems, fragile bones, eye problems, allergies and things that often are passed onto future generations. Push past all the old stigmas. Old families don’t want to talk about the negative. I contrast that with today’s elderly generation offering you an ORGAN RECITAL, any time you ask them “how are you”. Histories of dyslexia, ADD and color blindness can help teachers correctly identify problems often disguised as behavior problems. Write those important things down for your children. Couple that information with a three-generation chart. Early testing for certain cancers can save lives. I wouldn’t waste time worrying about male pattern blindness (the trait of all husbands not to see ketchup bottles in refrigerators) or Viking Knees. TEXAS RIBS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN VIKING KNEES, unless you have to bend over to pick them up.
As always, I welcome suggestions for future columns.
Ed Peck can be reached through this newspaper or the White River Museum.
By ED PECK
Special to the Herald Times
