When Christian Science came to me, it found me seemingly at the very edge of the grave, material remedies having failed to help me. From childhood I had been frail, and despite an almost indomitable will, this resulted in a condition of chronic physical suffering punctuated* with seasons of complete collapse. From childhood my eyes had been the source of much suffering, and for twelve years I had worn glasses. Different specialists agreed exactly in their diagnoses, each saying that I should be obliged to wear glasses always, as the only relief that I could expect would come through lenses fitted to my eyes, and that every twelve or eighteen months stronger ones would be demanded.
Headache had been a lifelong companion, and stomach and bowel trouble developed to such a degree that a normal condition was unknown. Especially was this true after passing through a lingering siege of fever five years ago. But the greatest trial of all, that which gave me more misery than all the others, was a nervous disorder which seemed to baffle all attempts at cure. Three times did I experience the untold agonies of a complete breakdown, and sleeplessness, an affliction of years' standing, added its terrors. Finally, melancholy settled down upon me, yet until this came I had possessed a bright, hopeful spirit, always looking forward to the time when I should be perfectly well. So, when the dreadful depression came, and grew yet more dense, all seemed lost indeed. There seemed nothing to do but die, and death at times appeared to be even inviting.
In this condition the third and worst attack came upon me. After about six weeks there was added a stroke which affected one side. This was followed by indications of the approach of another, throughout the rest of the body, and convulsions were of daily occurrence. I then turned to Christian Science. A dear friend brought a practitioner to my bedside, and her words were so full of reason that I could not get around them, and so full of hope that I clung to them. At the same time I wanted indisputable proof of the efficacy of this treatment. This seemed necessary to me then, because a plan had been previously made according to which I was to come to California early that summer. My illness delayed the trip, but even then I was only waiting until I should improve sufficiently to undertake the journey. Because of reasons entirely disconnected with my illness, it still seemed the best thing to do, the practitioner agreeing fully. But I felt that since I was to make the change anyway, I might afterward be tempted to think that it was the change of climate that did the work; hence my wish for an indisputable proof.
