I went to boarding school when I was 11 and on the first tour of the place, I was shown round the sick bay. There were notices up stating surgery times... I almost threw up I was so scared! Once my Mum left me there it was clear that they had veto over me to operate on me whenever they liked, they could amputate all my limbs and sell them to the zoo if they wanted to! It was three years before I went down there for an illness - I treated everything myself, with hot ribena.
I GREW UP IN THE 80'S. ONE DAY I WAS WATCHING THE T.V AND A NEWS SPECIAL CAME ON, TELLING THE WORLD ABOUT THE DANGERS OF AIDS. THAT AFTERNOON I FELT MINUTELY OFF COLOUR, SO I BROKE THE NEWS TO MY DAD: 'Dad, I feel ill, I'm afraid I've got Aids'.
that was when he knew how frighteningly intelligent I would be : )
I used to believe…
My Mom had a car accident soon after I was born and had to have surgery on her knee because of it. Somehow, I got it into my head that there were still tiny doctors living inside her knee, working on it.
I used to believe…
my grandmother would tell me that if i exercised after eating(specifically, if i jumped up and down), food i ate would go into my appendix and i would get appendicitis. i would visualize this happening, and even thought it could happen if i slept on my side. so for years i refused to sleep on my right side, and usually slept on my back
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I thought a heart attack was when you got attacked by your brother or sister. So I'd say she's a heart attacking me!!!
I used to believe…
My sister and I both had minor surgery as infants -- she had a hernia and I had a cyst removed from my neck. I used to believe that they cut my head off, took out the cyst then sewed my head back on...
Not only that -- I also used to believe that EVERY kid had an operation when they were a baby. When I was 4 I was at my grandmother's for the summer. The first day I met another little girl and in an effort to get to know her asked her what kind of operation she had when she was little. I was dumbfounded when she said she hadn't had any! I went back to my grandma's house and she explained the truth to me. I bet that little girl's mother was surprised when her little girl asked her about operations!
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I used to believe…
My 5 year old had a fever. I told her that I would get some ASPIRIN for her. She told me she didn't need ASPIRIN because her butt didn't hurt.
i remember being told when i was about 4 that my mother had caught chicken pox from me when i was a baby. not knowing what that was, i imagined those plastic pots u have in the garden growing all over you and then green and red chickens would pop out of them every now and then
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I remember telling my friends that a heart attack meant that your heart exploded open, and the doctors had to stitch it shut again so it would work.
I used to believe…
When I was in 3rd grade I went to catholic school and we wore lovely plaid jumper uniforms. I had to wear it one evening for a Christmas program, so I thought I'd just wear it to bed so I didn't have to get dressed for school the next day. My mother told me that if I did it I would get sick, but I did it. I woke up the next morning with the mumps! I still have a hard time wearing any kind of street clothes to bed...thanks mom.
I was a bit of a nervous child. I used to worry that I was having a heart attack. My solution was to go outside and run around the house three times, snow or shine. You couldn't possibly run around the house if you were having a heart attack.
I used to believe…
After overhearing my mother and my aunt discuss my cousin's Chicken Pox infection, I thought that it was called "Chicken Pops" and it was a special meal that you got when you were 6.
I used to believe…
When I was really little I found out my dad was bipolar and I imediatly thought "polar = cold" (my dad LOVES the cold) and so I went around saying "My dad is bipolar" and if they asked what it was I'de say "It means he likes the cold and they named asickness after it!"
I used to believe…
While while staying at my grandparents house, I used to be allowed to eat a ton of candy with the usual caveat that too much would "give you a tummyache". Once when I was 5 or 6, coincidentially I'm sure, I got a horrible tummyache at their house and ended up projectile vomiting repeatedly. After that I was terrified to eat any candy especially at their house for fear my tummyache would return.
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I used to think that when I had a headache there was a fat purple angry walrus in my head sitting at a desk throwing papers around.
I used to believe…
When I was quite young, a neighbor convinced me that a "hernia" was when a boy's penis got tied in a knot. She being particularly cruel had done this to her brother.
Imagine my horror when I found out my father had a hernia!
I used to believe that cramps were called crabs because that's how I heard it. So if I would be running and got a cramp, I would say "Ouch. I have crabs! They're pinching me!"
I used to believe…
When I was 5 I used to believe that when someone got chicken pox they developed a bump that later sprouted a chicken feather. I was terrified of getting the chicken pox, which at the time was going around my school.
I used to believe…
Before I learned that pneumonia had a silent "p", I used to believe it was actually two sicknesses: there was neumonia, which was what you got if bronchitis got worse, and then if that got even worse, you ended up with PENumonia.
I believed that Ping Pong Balls was a venerial disease you got from Chinese people