Fourteen years ago I met with an accident which caused me to lose the use of my right limb, and for two years I was unable to walk. At the time of this accident I was living in Callaway, Neb., and after trying the two local physicians with no good results, we sent to Omaha for a physician and surgeon, who was recommended as one of the best. He said that the limb might have to be amputated. He insisted on my keeping perfectly quiet, and ordered a severe course of treatment, which was carried out. At the end of six weeks the cast was taken off and the limb kept perfectly quiet for four months. Following this, I let my foot touch the floor for the first time, and in less than half an hour the distressing conditions from which I suffered when the accident first occurred, reappeared, and I was again confined to my bed.
Altogether, during the two years, my knee was in a plaster mould sixteen weeks. My mental suffering seemed greater than I could bear. I saw nothing but an amputated limb or the grave before me. In this state of mind I turned to the Bible, wondering if it contained anything that could help me. In reading the Sermon on the Mount, I was deeply impressed by these verses: Matthew, 5:6; also Matthew, 7: 8-10. I felt that they were not empty promises. I then turned to God and prayed most earnestly. After this prayer the sweetest feeling of peace came to me, and I felt assured that my prayer would be answered.
Within a few days from this time, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, was brought to me by an acquaintance of my husband who had heard of my distressed condition. I had not gone far in the reading of this book before I knew my prayer had been answered, and I felt sure that I would be healed. I studied day and night, and one night, after reading the greater part of the night, it became clear to me that God had not made me a cripple, and I arose and walked across the room. I returned to my bed with the thought, "This surely proves that Mind alone enables me to walk," for I knew there was no strength in the limb. I had heard that there were practitioners of Christian Science, who gave treatment to those in need of help, hence I thought that it might be best to take treatment before trying to walk again. I also had a great desire to see and talk with a Christian Scientist, so I sent to a nearby city for a practitioner. After the first treatment I arose, leaving my crutches where I had laid them, and have had no use for them since. The soreness in my limb disappeared almost at once, the stiffness was gone within two weeks, and in a month's time I was able to walk without the least manifestation of a limp. It is now twelve years since I was healed through Christian Science and there has never been the slightest suggestion of any return of the trouble.
