Starting life anew after a pandemic—my aunt Carol and the Asian flu of 1957-58

October 19 | 2020

When my aunt Carol graduated from McGill Physiotherapy in May 1958, the relief she felt must have been twofold: Carol had fulfilled her diploma requirements, and the 1957-58 flu pandemic had run its course. The Asian flu that killed between one and two million people worldwide would cease to be a worry as my young aunt entered her first months of practice. So too would the rumours about its origins. Some people had attributed the pandemic to nuclear tests in the Pacific, others to Communist sabotage. For Carol, the real danger lay ahead. As I relate in my new memoir, The Smallest Objective, Carol Rutenberg Silver died tragically young from internal causes she was unable to subdue. 

More than fifty years later, a prize is still awarded annually in Carol’s name:

https://www.mcgill.ca/spot/about/awards-prizes-and-fellowships

https://www.mcgill.ca/spot/

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