My Two Week Stay In The Old Strathcona Isolation Hospital

By Archie Graham
Flight Lieutenant, Retired

I had just arrived home in Ottawa on my two week furlough. As I was shaving with my electric razor, I noticed my neck was sore on both sides. I reported to sick parade at Air Force Headquarters MIR where the Medical officer informed me that I had "Mumps". He said, "I will have to place you under quarantine and admit you to the Old Strathcona Isolation Hospital for a period of two weeks."

I was put in an ambulance and we proceeded to the Strathcona Isolation Hospital located at the south end of the Strathcona Park in Sandy Hill, Ottawa East.

I was met at the door by Mrs. Beach, the Head Nurse, who told me I would be sharing a room on the second floor with a Navy Officer who also had the mumps.

When we entered the room, the occupant objected violently as he was a Lt. Commander and senior officer in the Royal Canadian Navy and there was no way he would share a room with an Air Force Corporal. She advised him that this was a civilian hospital and rank meant nothing to her. She also indicated that he had no choice as the room on the other side of us was occupied by a civilian that had Scarlet Fever and on the other side the room was occupied by two children that had chicken pox, and also the room across the hall was occupied by two Army chaps who had VD. He was stuck with me whether he liked it or not, but even worse I was stuck with him.

This Royal Canadian Navy Officer had just finished a year exchange tour with the Royal Navy where he had developed the Limey slang and had a British accent. The only thing we had in common was that we both had the mumps, except in his case the mumps went down on him and he was confined to bed. At least I could walk around our room, but the nurse told us we must keep the room door closed at all times to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. It turned out that we were not compatible in any way. The more he would moan and groan with the pain, the more I would laugh. On many occasions he threatened to have me up for Court Martial because I refused to call him "Sir". He called me Pigeon and I called him Fish-head.

The only time we would be the least bit friendly was when he wanted something like the bed pan. The only way I could get away from him was to go and sit in the bathroom. He complained about everything - the food, the service. He even confided to the doctors that he was getting worse instead of better. His main concern was that he would become sterile when all this was over. I guess I didn't help much as I told him that this was likely to happen.

Our wives would come and visit us, but they had to stand on the lawn and I would stick my head out the window on the second floor, and visit that way. I would have to relay his wife's messages to him as he was not allowed out of bed. She seemed like a pleasant lady. She and my wife Helen got along just fine. I could never understand what she saw in this first class "Pue".

I would pass the time watching the girls in the park as at that time girls were 10 to 1 in quantity to men in Ottawa. I suppose most of them worked for the government and probably lived in a single room, so a stroll in the park was the thing to do. I used to describe to my friend who was bedridden the various shapes and sizes of these ladies. This didn't help his morale either.

This chap who was as much a Canadian as I was, grew a beard so he would look like an Englishman. I often wondered what happened to him as you can imagine we didn't keep in touch. Finally, my two weeks were up (it seemed like two years). It felt like getting out of jail. It might not have been so bad if I had had a congenial partner to live with.

I arrived home and guess what - I had given my mumps to our son Andy who was only 18 months old at the time. he used to stand up in his crib and say to me, "it hurts Daddy, it hurts". and point to his neck. The Old Strathcona Isolation Hospital was demolished in 1950 after they constructed the East lawn Pavilion at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The East lawn pavilion has since been demolished and in it's place is the new Cardiac Research Centre.