For many years I was a great sufferer from pain in the back of the head and stiff neck, and usually went about all the morning with a mustard plaster on the back of my neck and fly blisters behind each ear. The trouble became so serious that it extended to the face and jaw, and when eating I could feel the jaw slip out of place. At times I could scarcely open my mouth.
One of my brothers being a physician gave me much attention and did all he could to relieve me, but opiates were the only thing that would cause the muscles to relax, and naturally I became much addicted to the use of narcotics of various kinds.
It was during one winter of unusual suffering that I heard from a dear friend of Christian Science. I did not know what she meant and took no interest in finding out. While still suffering with this pain, whatever it was, I went to visit a brother living in Omaha, and the lock-jaw (for I could call it by no other name) assumed such a serious form that he called in a physician in whom he had great confidence. The doctor asked me to come to his office every morning for a few days that he might determine upon a method of treatment. At this time it was impossible for me to eat any breakfast before ten or eleven o'clock, as there was no way of getting my teeth far enough apart to put even a bit of soft toast or small piece of banana into my mouth earlier in the day.
