In May, 1913, when I became interested in Christian Science, I was just about a physical and nervous wreck. At the age of fifteen years I had a serious illness, and for two years afterward the doctors thought I would not recover from what they called lung trouble. For the next thirty years I was never free from a cough. I had influenza twenty-six times, with all sorts of complications; also chronic catarrh, bronchitis, neuralgia, neuritis, both inflammatory and sciatic rheumatism, pleurisy, and chronic bowel trouble. I suffered from acute indigestion for more than eight years, and had what specialists called a rheumatic throat, which made me subject to violent strangling spells at any time day or night, and I lived in constant fear of them. I also had headaches for about thirty years. Sixteen doctors tried to cure me of this trouble, but I never had more than temporary relief. In fifteen years I suffered many nervous breakdowns.
In 1900 we came to California for my health, as the doctors said I could not survive another winter in the middle West. For about two years I seemed to improve, then was taken to a sanitarium for throat and lung trouble, where I got better; but in 1911 I had a very severe illness, which the doctors called pleural pneumonia, and was in the same sanitarium for over three months. When Christian Science found me, I was to sense in a very bad condition, although I had tried every material means that many doctors had recommended and still was facing another siege in the sanitarium. I knew nothing about Christian Science, but a dear cousin had just begun the study and I saw the healing in three treatments of a finger that had been ulcerated for eight months. She had been told that only an operation would cure it, but the healing was complete; even the nail grew on perfectly. At the same time she was healed of inflammatory rheumatism in her hands.
I decided that if Christian Science would do all this for my cousin, it would surely do something for me; so I went right away to the same practitioner, and was healed of four ailments that been with me from ten to thirty years. I got strong and well, and my happiness knew no bounds. I bought "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy at the time of my first treatment, but on trying to read it I found that the print seemed to blur. My cousin said I would be able to read all right in a few days, and within a week I was reading for half the night. Bowel trouble, rheumatism, bronchitis, and laryngitis disappeared with the first three treatments. One of the most severe spells of headache was overcome almost instantaneously, and a severe strangling spell that came on when I was alone was overcome instantly by applying what I knew of the truth; and with this overcoming all fear of a return of the trouble left me. For two hours I tried to overcome an attack of acute indigestion, but the pain was so severe I asked my cousin to treat me, and before I got through telling her what the symptoms were the pain had gone. That was two years ago, and there has never been a return of this ailment. A severe attack of influenza about two years ago was overcome within ten minutes after asking my sister for help.
