Article October 27, 1898 Issue

MENTAL SURGERY

Sarah A. Durfee

In the middle of last summer (1897), a young lady, who attends our church and is much interested in Christian Science, was riding her bicycle. Coming near a corner where a large boulder had been placed to keep people off the boulevard, she saw a lady in a heavy "spider" pheaton coming, and saw that she had not room to turn to the right and pass between the stone and pheaton, so started to turn to the left. Just as she did this the lady touched her horse with the whip. The horse was so close that the young lady put her hand on its shoulder, but her wheel turned under the horse's feet and both the horse and the pheaton passed over the wheel and one of her limbs. The bicycle was crushed, simply ruined. Those who saw it called a carriage and sent for a physician to be at her home upon her arrival. The physician, after examination, declared it to be a breakage of two bones, and that she was dreadfully bruised. This was Saturday night; Sunday morning the doctor called, but said the leg was too badly swollen to set; and again stated that two bones were broken. Monday and Tuesday he came and confirmed his first statement, but said he would come Wednesday and bandage it any way. After his Tuesday morning call a Scientist called, just having heard of the affair. The young lady asked for Christian Science treatment.

The practitioner did not reach her until noon on Tuesday, gave a treatment, combatted the medical statement that the patient would have to sit with her foot on a chair for six weeks and would not be able to walk for three months.

The next morning (Wednesday) the doctor came and examined the limb preparatory to bandaging it. Then re-examining it, he said, "I was sure the bones were broken, but they are not. It is a dreadful sprain, however, and I will bandage it." The patient demurred, but he insisted, saying that if the bandages hurt her too much she could remove them. She permitted him to do it, and a short time after he went away she took them off.

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