My father was born in 1902, so he lived through the pandemic of 1918, which killed 675,000 Americans. Yet I know little about the challenges he and his family faced during this frightening period of history.

When I was growing up, the 1918 pandemic was not on my radar – especially when the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War, and landing on the moon were center stage.

If my father were still alive, I would be peppering him with questions about how he and his family pursued daily life with illness all around them. Did people wear masks, or were there protests against them? How did it affect the family farm and the economy? Was hand washing a priority? What fears did they have of dying?

Certainly, there are books and magazine articles written that describe the general difficulties everyone faced. But actually to know what my father and his family did and felt would give insight into the strength and fortitude necessary to make it through tough times.

Therefore, start your personal diary, writing daily the challenges you face and how you are overcoming them.

Show your future ancestors how tough you really were.

Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D., is a geriatric house-call physician who serves as president of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults and Assemblyman to the California Senior Legislature. He has practiced in the Santa Clarita Valley for 32 years.