A CURE FOR POLIO DISEASE?

My aunt was a young girl at the turn of the century. She suddenly became very ill and was diagnosed as having Polio Disease. At that time there was no cures or vaccines. The doctors simply told my Lithuanian granparents to prepare for her death.

They refused to give up hope and instead enlisted the help of some ‘Old Timers’ from Lithuania who continued to rely on herbal remedies for just about everything. After gathering supplies from wooded areas and fields they arrived at my grandfather’s house. To find my aunt proped up in a chair and being spoon fed as she had already become paralysed!

They set to work immediatley. Boiling and pulverizing all sorts of strange concoctions. Some were fed to my aunt and others were placed in bath water. She quickly began to develop huge blisters. The old timers assured my grandparents that this was a normal reaction. The blisters were lanced and the treatments were continued until my aunt slowly regained mobility and eventually was restored to her former good health.

Perhaps she was misdiagnosed by the medical doctors. But they were all too familiar with the ravages of Polio Disease. Regardless of what her illness may or may not have been, She was very near death and cured by the old timers. She lived on to raise a family of her own and recently welcomed the addition of another great-grandchild!

Samagonas and Snakes

Many years ago while I was helping my aging aunt to remove some unwanted items from her attic I found a bottle of ‘Samagonas’ (MOON-SHINE) that had belonged to my grandfather. And there was small snake resting at the bottom of the bottle. I asked my aunt if she knew why my grandfather would drink alchohol from a bottle with a snake in it!. She could only offer that he was fond of turning to peculiar home rememdies that were common amongst Lithuanians at the turn of the century. I have found many pages written about ‘the old ways’ of rural Lithuanians. But have never found any references to anything so strange as a snake in the bottle! If anyone could provide an explanation for this I would like to know what the purpose of it was.

I think it was my grandfathers way of discouraging my uncle from drinking his boose!