Chicago is a hotspot right now for measles. I’m not at risk because I had measles as a child. Back then, there was no vaccine. Epidemics came and went, and they were dreaded.

When I was nine years old, somehow the adults knew a measles epidemic was approaching in the fall. I was the first of my siblings to succumb.

I was sick for three weeks, and I have never been so sick before or since. I remember looking in the mirror, and the sight of my rash-covered face almost made me throw up — I was throwing up a lot, actually. And I had a high fever.

One night, I woke up with fever-induced hallucinations. Worse yet, I had thrown up in my sleep. Vomit and hallucinations don’t mix well, and I wish I could suppress that memory. My parents came and cleaned me up, and as I recall (I was hallucinating), my favorite cartoon character appeared and said comforting things to me. I still wonder who, if anyone, talked to me. I suspect it may have been my father.

I felt a little better by Thanksgiving. I came down for dinner, feeling out of place in my bathrobe, and intended to eat as much as I could because I knew good food would help me get well. Mom even served my favorite vegetable, asparagus. I enjoyed it a lot, although I couldn’t manage to eat a full stalk. I left the party, exhausted, before dessert and went back to bed, where I listened to my family laughing downstairs, bitterly disappointed because I couldn’t be with them.

I didn’t fully understand how epidemics worked or thank my parents for all the loving care they gave me, although my complete recovery might have been gratifying enough for them. Measles can cause lasting health problems or even death. A boy at my school died in that epidemic.

I’ve never been able to track down the details of the research project, but I remember being taken to the Health Department and getting blood drawn before and after the epidemic. I endured the before-illness needle stick mostly because my mother made it clear I had to cooperate or else. For the after-illness blood draw, she explained that studying my blood might find a way to keep other children from getting sick, so I was proud to contribute. After what I’d been through, needles didn’t frighten me anymore.

Despite an effective vaccine available now, measles is still around. During my childhood, it was one of the perils we had to endure and survive, and we accepted the risk and suffering only because we had no choice — but we lived in dread.

***

The trade paperback edition of Dual Memory comes out on April 16 and is available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller. Hardcover, ebook, and audiobook editions are also available.

The third book in the Semiosis trilogy, Usurpation, will be published in October this year, and you can pre-order it. Links to your favorite bookseller are here, in hardcover and ebook. (Audiobook to come.)