To say that I owe all that I hold dearest on earth to Christian Science, is in no way an exaggeration. Much has been done for me and my immediate family by a study of Christian Science, but the physical healings I count among the least of its blessings. These are, however, often the "signs" which lead many to the truth, and so it ' proved to us. In the hope that it may help others, I offer for publication my first experience with Christian Science.
Five years ago last Christmas, my daughter, then four years of age, was very ill. She had suffered from infancy with a throat affection and malaria. Finally, in the summer of 1904, she had a severe attack of illness, followed a little later by acute throat trouble. We had always employed the best physicians for her, and all that they, with the assistance of trained nurses and medicines, could do was done; yet the child was never well. By Christmas day she was seriously ill again, and once more we called in a physician, who immediately sent for a second—a throat specialist. After a thorough examination they agreed that the child was afflicted with tubercular disease of the throat, also organic heart disease. They advised an operation, providing she could gain the strength necessary to undergo one, which was doubtful, as her whole system was said to be weakened by her many illnesses. She could retain no food, and her general condition was quite alarming. The physician did not hesitate to say that it was critical, and that she might live only a short time, as the heart disease was incurable.
From a medical standpoint there could be no doubt about the correctness of the diagnosis, as the examination was thorough and conducted by two of the leading physicians of Oakland, Cal. As the physicians agreed that they could do nothing for the child, their visits were discontinued, and a Christian Science practitioner was called in. Within a few weeks the tubercular symptoms had disappeared, the breathing, pulse, and temperature had become normal, and all evidences of her long illness had vanished. In the five years since then there has been no recurrence of the diseases, nor have we employed a physician or used any . medicine.
