I Would like to express my deep sense of gratitude for all that Christian Science has done for me and for my family. Three summers ago my little daughter contracted what is known medically as painful rickets, involving softening of the bone. She gradually became quite paralyzed, and her body was very sore to touch, until she was unable to bear even the pressure of bedclothes. Our own doctor was puzzled and worried over her condition, and said he would like another opinion. Accordingly a specialist was called in, and after discussing the case for some time they concluded that it was a very bad one; that the only hope of recovery lay in strict observance of numerous rules, which they set down, with regard to diet, baths, massage, and so on.
This treatment I faithfully followed up for nearly six months, but without any good result. The condition steadily grew worse, and by this time the child's limbs were crooked and her spine was curved. At intervals her eyes became much swollen, until sometimes they appeared to be twice their normal size. On the advice of my doctor I consulted an oculist, who told me that nothing could be done, and that only as her general condition improved would the eyes resume their normal appearance again. By the beginning of January her condition had become so alarming that we did not know what to do. Jaundice had set in, also a very severe bowel trouble. None of us thought that we should keep her very long.
Then a friend told me of Christian Science, but I did not take it seriously. I believed that it was a very good thing for nervous disorders, but that it had no power to heal organic diseases or surgical cases. I sought another medical opinion, and owing to the alarming state of my little girl's limbs, I was urged without delay to put them in splints and to keep a board at her back, or she would be a helpless cripple all her life. I was by that time beginning to lose faith in medical treatment, and began to wonder if, after all, there was any healing power in Christian Science. I can now realize how wonderfully Truth was guiding me. I decided to go to a testimony meeting. All the way there I was hoping that I should hear about the healing of a child, and at that meeting there was a testimony given of the healing power of Truth in the case of a little child suffering from practically the same condition as mine. After that meeting I felt much more hopeful, and a few days later I went to see a practitioner, and treatment was begun.
