I have a cousin who got measles as a kid. She was around 7 I guess. She’s in her 50s now.

She has been totally dependent on her mom and her siblings since. It totally fried her brain. She’s very sweet and everyone likes her, but she was nearly erased.

People ask her any question and can lead her to any answer. “Hey Sheila, I heard you had a million dollars in the bank and you were gonna give me half of it.”

“Yeah, I have a million over at the bank and I’m going to give you half. Mommy will ride us over there and and we go get it. Yeah.”

“Hey Sheila, I was told that you’re pregnant and the baby is coming tomorrow.”

“Yeah I have a baby, it comes tomorrow. I name it Princess. Yeah.”

I mean you can get her to say anything. She won’t cuss though, not directly anyway.

“Sheila, Bobby told me that you said fuck ass this morning.”

“Nooooo. I don’t cuss. I don’t say fuck ass. Them is bad words. Yeah.”

It’s like she’s a little kid but less her own person. She was a bright kid before measles. It sucks because the only reason she wasn’t vaccinated is because she came from the poorest part of WV. There were no doctors where she grew up. Her older siblings had been vaccinated through some measure to vaccinate rural communities. She just missed it by being born too late. Her mom hates herself for it, but she just didn’t take it too seriously until she had to. Her mom is in her 80s now and still taking care of her. She’s a tough woman, still working 45 hours a week. Once she’s gone I’m sure her older sister will care for her.

It blows my mind that there are people don’t take diseases seriously out there in the world.