In September, 1916, while at a northern lake resort, I fell and broke my ankle. At that time I was not at all interested in Christian Science, though my parents were.
My mother had given me a copy of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. Whenever I went away from home I took the book with me; but I seldom read it. However, this experience proved that "man's extremity is God's opportunity;" for, since we were seven miles from the nearest village and a mile or more from a telephone, we turned at once to Science and Health. My friend and I read aloud during the greater part of the day; and though the bones did not resume their normal positions, the pain lessened and I was able to hobble about. In the evening we wired my mother the news of the accident, and asked her to help me.
That night I went to bed at eight o'clock, and did not waken until after eight the next morning. For several weeks I had been spending the nights just lying awake. When I dressed I found I could wear my own shoe, and that all pain had gone. That day I walked several miles, much to the amazement of all who had seen me the previous day. The third day, after I returned from swimming, we found that the bones had gone back into place. A week later I returned home. As soon as I was in the house I began limping; whereas I had been walking normally since the day after the accident. Neither my father nor my mother appeared to notice my halting gait. This state of what I thought to be absolute indifference annoyed me, and I retired with the feelings of a hurt child. The next morning I announced that my ankle had not been healed in Science, and that I was going to have it cared for properly!
