During my childhood and early girlhood days I did not know what it meant to be free from pain. Four years prior to becoming a student of Christian Science, I had submitted to five operations in less than a year; and through carelessness during one of these operations I was left with an injured organ, which resulted in a tubercular condition. Although serum treatment was taken for over a year, no cure was effected. On the contrary, my suffering increased until I could not bear the weight of my clothing. Added to all this an extremely high-strung, sensitive frame of mind developed.
While everyone was most kind and desirous of seeing me freed from suffering, all that was offered me was another operation, as "there was nothing else that could be done." Much to the surprise and distress of everyone, I absolutely refused to submit to another operation. It seemed my darkest hour, for I had lost all faith in surgery. No one could understand my refusal, and I had not yet heard the words, "Give sick people credit for sometimes knowing more than their doctors" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 417).
Osteopathy, chiropractic treatments, will-power, travel, change of studies, and other material means and methods were thoroughly tried, with no resulting healing. After four years of this constant turmoil, I received a letter from a friend across the continent, which read in part: "I think you have suffered long enough. Why don't you try Christian Science? It cannot hurt you and may help you." With the coming of this message heavy chains seemed to break, and a wave of joy and hope such as I had not known before swept over me. It was with a freer step that I followed this friend's directions to go to a Christian Science Reading Room and ask for a copy of The Christian Science Journal in order to select practitioner. Much to my distress, the office of the practitioner was directly opposite the office of the surgeon who had operated on me. It therefore required considerable effort on my part to enter the practitioner's office; but after two hours of hearing about God and man's relation to Him I wanted the whole world to share my happiness.
