October 14, 1944
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310.24.1-2.2016 Transcription
14 Oct. 44
Dearest,
For several days we feared mail
might be awfully slow in being
forewarded up here — but today
your very swell letter of Oct 9th
came via our old location. I
imagine the Gov’t has sent you
our first A.P.O.[1] address by now, so
air mail could sail through fairly
decently, they say (east ↔ west espec[ially]
good).
There was only one question in
your letter — here goes. All
babies (PRACTICALLY) have some
degree of umbilical hernia. Infact
the way we humans develop it
is normally a hernial-like area
as long as the umbilical cord is
functioning. Anywheres up to 1 (2 or 3) yrs
is need in many cases before
other adjacent abdominal layers
are sufficiently developed to
[2]
[Censorship possibilities necessitate writing
on only one side of sheet.][2]
accomodatively “take over”/help out.
I have prescribed hundreds of
“Nabelene” [adhesive, stretchable, reinforced
center][3] baby abdominal “plasters.” The
company robs you but they are almost
worth it. As you apply first one
side & then the other, you pull the
stretchable adhesive to the point of
half-stretched — then they are
efficient as well as comfortable.
Mothers have told me that if you
get them well “set” (oil free, powder free skin)
they will stay on even c̅[4] tub bathing
for almost 5, 6, or 7days. I would say
to “rest” the skin for 1 day every 5 days.
Lastly, Mother told [illegible deletion] me I had quite
a umbilical hernia for quite awhile.
(Even at the worst — the operation is un
duck soup around adolescence).
This bizness of writing c̅ others
reading it makes my writing sorta
all around “unproductive”/“uneasy.”
I’ll do better though as I grow wise
to it. Anyhooo, I can express —
All my greatest love,
Dave
[Boy, have bed bugs got me
bitten to pieces!!][5]
[1] Army Post Office.
[2] Bracketed text is written diagonally across the left half of the sheet of paper.
[3] Bracketed text is part of original.
[4] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[5] Bracketed text written in small print to the left of “All my greatest love, Dave.”