Aunt Millie Linocut Print

In the fall of 1918, my great grandmother Agnes was pregnant with my grandpa Frank. The Spanish flu had hit their small town and despite school closures and isolation, my great grandmother contracted the flu at about seven months pregnant. My great grandfather‘s sister, Millie, was a nurse in a nearby town, so she came to care for Agnes despite also being about seven months pregnant. At one point Agnes went into labor. Millie knew that if they could not stop the labor, both mother and baby would die. Millie cared for her throughout the night until the labor was stopped, then brought her back to health over the next days and weeks then returned to her own family. On Christmas Eve several weeks later, my healthy grandfather was born to a healthy mother. Millie went on to care for others in her community until she finally contracted the flu just as she was due to have her baby. In the hospital where she had trained and worked, she gave birth to a baby girl. Within a day both mother and daughter died from complications of flu and pneumonia despite the efforts of her friends and colleagues. To my family, Aunt Millie is the greatest of heroes.