A year ago I fell and broke my right hip

A year ago I fell and broke my right hip. At first I was not aware of the seriousness of the injury, but because of its disabling nature I had to use a walker. I was admitted to a nearby Christian Science nursing facility. I felt I should have X-rays and, as these were inconclusive, I was referred to a specialist for further examination. After reviewing the X-rays he determined that my hip was broken in such a way as to require an operation to set the bone. I was at an advanced age when this injury occurred. At this point I informed him I was a Christian Scientist and would have to give the matter further consideration before deciding whether to have an operation. The surgeon outlined to me in detail the seriousness of the injury.

I returned to the nursing facility and continued praying. I read the following statement in Science and Health: "Until the advancing age admits the efficacy and supremacy of Mind, it is better for Christian Scientists to leave surgery and the adjustment of broken bones and dislocations to the fingers of a surgeon, while the mental healer confines himself chiefly to mental reconstruction and to the prevention of inflammation" (p. 401). My initial reaction to the statement was that it gave me a green light to have an operation to set the broken hip. I then discussed this statement with a Christian Science practitioner. He encouraged me to consider the passage in the light of the context in which it appears in Science and Health, especially this statement on the next page: "However, it is but just to say that the author has already in her possession well-authenticated records of the cure, by herself and her students through mental surgery alone, of broken bones, dislocated joints, and spinal vertebrae."

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