Mom always said she would take care of Dreama as best she could, as long as she could. Some other parents sent their children away to facilities. She was supposed to tour a home called Apple Creek but heard about a case of patient neglect, and said she could never send her daughter to a place like that.
When mom finally explained Dreama’s illness to me, I asked her why she didn’t sue the school, since that had been where Dreama was exposed to measles. She asked, “Would that make her better?” Our concern was for her.
Someone always had to be home with her. At the age of nine, I could set up her tube feeds and change her oxygen. I stayed up on weekends to help suction her throat when she coughed. My parents never asked me to do any of it, but I saw their struggles so I would help when I could.
We couldn’t have had a better family around us through it all. Originally from West Virginia, my mother had nine siblings who would visit us in Cleveland when they could. My uncle Gary planned to move his family to Florida, but told my mom he would delay the move as long as she continued to care for Dreama. So his family stayed there for four years after they’d made up their minds. In that way, Dreama’s life affected my aunt, uncle, and their children’s lives too.
Dreama passed away in 1988. Not a day goes by when I don’t think I don’t think of her. I often wonder what she would be doing if she’d never gotten sick, and believe she would be accomplishing great things today.
Seeing measles come back shook me hard. It has me anxious and furious and a complete mess. It’s completely senseless, and I wish people who say measles is nothing could have a look at my life.
I watched my sister die a slow death. If you could prevent the chance of this happening to your child, why would you even question that?
Dreama Sue Hager
1964-1988
