Surviving Scarlet Fever

Contributed By Vaunell Joy Saville Temple (Niece)

They lived in Springfield, Missouri when there was an epidemic of Scarlet Fever which was very contagious. It developed into meningitis and could settle on the brain. Mildred had been sick a little but recovered quickly. Joe got sick and went from bad to worse, as he was paralyzed from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. The whole family was quarantined with only the father allowed to come and go to work and a nurse who lived in and took care of Joe. The doctors said there was no hope and no serum for the severity of his case. After he lived for a few days without dying, the doctors decided to give him the regular serum. They laid him on the table and tapped his spine and then put the serum into his spinal column. The Pentecostal Minister stopped at the front gate and told Hallie, about praying for healing. She went into the house and into the closet and prayed for Joe. Later that night the nurse thought he was dying because he was sweating so much that she needed to change the sheets. But from the next morning he began to get well. A week later he was sitting at the table eating. The medical specialist came to check on him and said it was nothing but a miracle considering how sick Joe had been. He gained complete use of his limbs

He never had a paper route but rather worked as a pin-setter at the local bowling alley.

He was a good cook at home and would go to town and buy 1 pound of ground round for .05 cents a pound and cook it up with gravy for all of them to share, sometimes with cornbread made with water

Joe Marion Kelley