Mickey
Mickey was born in 1936 and was an only child. She was 9 years old when her mother, a nurse, contracted pulmonary TB. During her years of illness she was eventually sent to Firland TB Sanatorium for three years. Mickey experienced many transitions as a young child and teenager, living with various relatives who had different lifestyles, religions, and interests. Mickey explains how the diagnosis and treatment of TB greatly impacts family dynamics and decisions.
In Mickey's words...
“When I went to live with my dad’s sister and husband while my mom was at Firland for 3 years, I can’t remember going to any of my aunt’s friend’s houses and being with children. I was the child. Whereas, even though I was an only child, when I would be with my mother’s family, I never felt like an only child, and people were always making music. It was completely different. Completely different lifestyle. ”
“While in at Firlands, my mother converted to Catholicism, but I had not been in on it. When she was discharged, and I was entering 8th grade, I know that I was a problem. My parents likely thought, ‘what are we going to do with Mickey because now we are Catholic and we want her to go to a Catholic school and she has only gone to public schools?’ Off to Holy Names Academy I went. I loved school, so that wasn’t so bad, truthfully. But there was a very small, very feisty and very bossy nun and she called me the heathen the whole year because I wasn’t baptized.”