The blog posts below are taken from my grandmother's diaries. Althea Green Smith Crook was lovingly referred to as Nanny to her immediate family ~ thus her diaries are called Nanny's Diaries.

Nanny wrote in her diaries when she remembered to - mostly in the evening. There will be some years in which she didn't keep diaries and there will also be some days/weeks in her yearly diaries in which she skipped or forgot to write in them. For the most part, these are her words - written as she wrote them. There will be typos, forgotten punctuation, and other grammatical errors - but I am rewriting these as my Nanny originally wrote them.

As with all old handwriting, there are some entries that I can't quite make out - and these entries will be followed with a (?) to signify that this may or may not be correct or I can't figure out what she is trying to write.

Thank you Nanny for leaving us 50 years worth of memories! We miss you!

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

April 23 - 25, 1972 Open Heart Surgery


Sunday, April 23, 1972

Cloudy, dreary day. I done regular work. Carmen helped. Carmen took a shower. Betty brought Zak up about 10 this morning. I was kind of late in getting up. Took a bath, got breakfast. Betty got back from Portland about 2:45 PM. Kim was okay, glad see Betty. Dorothea going in this evening, when she got there another little girl was in there and she and Kim were having a good time. She wasn’t so lonely as last night so Dorothea told Betty after she got home. The astronauts left the moon tonight. Es and Cliff were here. Carmen was sick last night in the night. She went home tonight.



Monday, April 24, 1972

I done my regular work. Bill down to Gordon’s. Zak up here. I went down to Betty’s in late p.m. with Zak. Betty said when she got home from seeing Kim she was quite nervous, showing it in a peculiar way. Dorothea went with Betty. Betty came home with Walt. Left her car at Dorothea’s. This is been a very tense long day for all. Tomorrow night at this time I will be over. In evening Fern and Lloyd called, also Betty and Zak called.



Tuesday, April 25, 1972 KIMBERLY ALLIE BOUTILIER HORTON

Today at 11:30 AM Kimberly went to the operating room on the fifth floor of the new wing in the Maine Medical Center for Open Heart Surgery. At 2:30 she came from the operating room to the sixth floor to the intensive care unit. She was a very sick little girl and in some pain. The operation was a success, now if all goes well for the next 24 hours she will be okay. Her congestive heart failure was discovered at the age of three months. She has been in and out of hospitals ever since. In last few years she has been better and able to attend or start her schooling. It has been a day to long be remembered in our families. Dorothea, Joy, Betty and Walt were with her at the hospital. Fern, Esther and I stayed with Zak at Betty’s. We cleaned kitchen cupboards and worked like hell to keep busy. Carmen went to school.



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