Medical Conditions and Family History

Two weeks ago I put out a call for photos showing medical conditions. There are three images and one blog link in this post so be sure to read all the way to the end.

The inspiration for that request was a photo that Elizabeth Vollrath emailed me in May.

It’s a lovely 1880s photograph showing an unusual feature in her right ear. While not a medical condition, it made me think about details in photos.

Vollrath’s dad inherited the split in the earlobe, showing a relationship to this unknown woman. I wondered whether she was his grandmother. I was close. A cousin later positively identified this woman as Ida Sophia Hass (b. 1866). Ida’s sister Pauline Hass was Vollrath’s great-great-grandmother, and her dad’s great grandmother.

Diedra March sent me this photo of her great-grandfather’s family.

She thinks her dad has inherited macular degeneration from this man, his mother’s father. Anders Norberg appears to have something wrong with his eyes. According to March, Macular Degeneration causes blindness in your center vision, and people with the condition often look out of the corners of their eyes.

Rachel McPherson shared a photo of a school group that shows her grandmother in a leg brace (front row, fourth from right) due to polio.

She was born in 1933, before a vaccine was available.

Bloggers like to share through their online postings. The Footnote Maven posted a medically related photo on her blog, Shades of the Departed, on “Health Issues and Women Wearing Glasses.”

Thank you to everyone who sent images in response to my request!