KAREN: Okay, we're back now. Now, you had just told the story about that little boy with his --

TRUDY: Oh yeah.

KAREN: -- scalp. So, yeah, what would happen? Would you get called out in the middle of the night?

TRUDY: No, it was in the day time.

KAREN: No, in other cases, did that happen?

TRUDY: Oh, it depends. It depended on what it was. A lot of time we were called out after hours. After hours we count from midnight. Didn't appear to bother anybody that we were going out all hours of the night. When I first started the flu epidemic popped out in Hoonah.

A lot of old people -- we had a lot of old people and a lot of babies. And they were sick. You know I walked day and night. And we didn't have anybody there from the hospital to come and check them. And I requested - because I was tired - on Wednesday. Finally, they came on Friday. My husband said: “There's a doctor and a nurse at the house waiting for you.” So I went there and the doctor said: “Well, you look like you could use some sleep.” I said: “I can. I'm so tired.”

And there was a cot in my living room. We didn't have a couch or anything. We just moved into that big place and were just using a cot for a couch. And I lay down on it and I never woke up 'til the next day. The doctor just took over. Which was real good.

KAREN: 'Cause you'd been on call for --

TRUDY: All that week.

KAREN: -- you'd been up all --

TRUDY: Yeah, like certain hours there was kids that were really so ill that they couldn't do anything for themselves or the old people. And then there were people that were on penicillin. I'm allergic to it, so I always forget.

You had to give shots to certain ones, certain time. And that's what I was doing. Day and night, day and night I'd go out see the sick people and then the other people that were on the list. Nobody ever asked us: “Do you think you need help?” or “Can we help you?” My kids were the only ones that used to feel so sorry for me.

KAREN: So, you mean nobody else from the village or from the hospital?

TRUDY: From the village. I thought that would be something nice. But my friend Beatrice Brown was the one that finally came in as a health aide. I was so happy.