When I was a small child in Tumut, I suffered badly from what was later diagnosed as asthma to the extent that my local doctor suggested I should go to what I remember was the Far West Children’s Home (now Royal Far West1) in the Sydney beachside suburb of Manly.
My attacks of asthma were so bad that I had to sleep sitting up. If I didn’t, I could suffocate. Some of the attacks lasted for days, and I would miss school because of them. At the time, my parents were told that I would never be able to work and that I would be on a disability pension for the rest of my life. In December 1962, when I was 7, a nurse came via train to Tumut Railway Station to pick me up and take me to Sydney on her return train journey. Before we left Tumut, I was taken to the steam engine to have a look. The nurse also picked up a little girl who seemed a bit younger than me. My mother gave me a toy aeroplane for me to occupy my time on the train journey. We slept on the train and arrived at the children’s home the next morning. I was shown around to place and eventually was allowed to go and play with the other children in the playground, which had what was called a hurdy-gurdy (a small merry-go-round).
When I had been there a short while, the aeroplane my mum had given me was stolen. One of the boys who had been there a while, had calipers on his legs (there were a few like this), as he had suffered from polio. He was very mean and given the opportunity, would kick me with his calipers, sometimes making my shins bleed. Once, when we were to get dressed to go to church, he pinched my shirt and wouldn’t give it to me. That shirt disappeared, just like the aeroplane. I did make a friend while at the children’s home, a Paul Saville(?), but I never saw him again.
I the early 1960s asthma was not very well understood* and many different treatments were tried. Some time after I arrived in Manly, I was put into hospital for a few days. I remember wetting the bed one night in hospital, and changing the bedsheets myself the next morning before anyone found out.
The children’s home was across the road from Manly Beach and we were allowed to go for a swim sometimes. Although my parents were unable to come to Sydney to see me because they couldn’t afford it, my much older sister, Robyn, lived in Sydney and visited once a week. With her help, I would write a letter to mum and dad and sometimes asked them to send a few shillings. Although I cannot remember whether they or Robyn gave me the money, I must have had some because I remember buying lollies at a shop around the corner. I also remember getting a toy gun for Christmas from Santa. As a treat we were taken to a film studio to sit in the audience while a children’s television show as being filmed. We later watched the show on television at the home, but I didn’t see myself in the audience.
We had to go to church every Sunday, and when the plate came around we usually wouldn’t put anything in it, jusxt pass it on. Sometimes, some of the older boys would put a shilling in the plate and take two shillings out! We slept in a dormitory with about 20 or so occupants. Once you were in bed, you were not supposed to get up, but some of the older boys did and occasionally caused a ruckus by waking and scaring the girls. I also attended school at the home, so I didn’t miss much school at all. I also went to regular exercise classes and had to do things like bend over chairs. I also had to spit into a cup for the nurse to examine. I suspected, later, that they thought I had cystic fibrosis.
I remember being told when I was to go home. I had mixed emotions about this because on the one hand, it was a nice place to be and on the other hand there was the attraction of home. The day I left they gave me a book called ‘The World On Wheels’, which I still have. I left Sydney by train with a carer, and Mum and Dad met me at Cootamundra Railway Station, from where we drove to Tumut in Dad’s old Willys truck. When I got back to Tumut Primary School, the teacher Miss Ferguson gave me the class photo. A year later I went back to Manly for a checkup. The doctors wanted me to stay, but I wouldn’t have a bar of it, so Mum took me back home.
It was only in 1967 that I was finally diagnosed with asthma and I was put on a new medication (Intal: disodium cromoglycate **) which helped stop the asthma attacks. When Mum came home with the first prescription she was in shock. I seem to remember it cost about $60, which was a lot of money in 1967.
* We know now that asthma is a serious lifelong medical condition that affects people of all ages. There is ongoing research to determine underlying triggers and causes of asthma, and Australia is among the world leaders in asthma research. Back in the 1960s there were few options for treatment and prevention. Some children were removed from their parents into hospital, in the mistaken belief that emotional trauma and environmental conditions were fuelling their asthma. People with asthma were given adrenalin to control their flare-ups. Doctors also advised avoidance of allergens and doing regular exercises such as blowing up balloons. In those days there was no official research into asthma. Today we can take steps to prevent and treat asthma flare-ups. There is ongoing research to determine underlying triggers and causes of asthma. Australia is among the world leaders when it comes to asthma research2.
** The discovery of cortisone in 1949 provided the first effective drug treatment of the inflammatory processes underlying asthma. Sadly, this benefit came with the risk of side effects so serious that doctors were often reluctant to use it. A safe nonsteroidal drug was urgently needed. Fifteen years later, a young British doctor of Armenian origin, Roger Ernest Collingwood Altounyan (Fig 1), discovered such a drug. This compound was named disodium cromoglycate, and it provided virtually complete protection against asthma attacks, lasting for many hours3.
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