I learned about Christian Science in 1932. At that time I was ill with a number of disorders. I had an enlargement of the blood vessels from the abdomen down to the upper thighs, had been lying in bed for weeks in much pain, and was unable to retain food. I was quite weak. The doctor advised an operation, which, however, was very risky, since I was four months pregnant. I had a happy marriage and was very fond of children.
Even at the birth of our first child, four years earlier, the lives of both mother and child had been in danger. The doctor cautioned against another pregnancy. It was thought that all these complications were caused by poliomyelitis. I had been ill with polio when I was one and a half years old, and the aftereffects had greatly handicapped me until I was thirty-three years old. The upper right part of my arm was paralyzed, the shoulder blade deformed, and I had muscular atrophy in my entire arm.
"Man's extremity is God's opportunity." This I was to prove when a very kind Christian Scientist heard of my condition and came to see me. She told me of her marvelous healing through Christian Science. Her kind manner, and her immediate willingness to read to me from the Bible and from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, expelled fear and opened my heart to receive the healing Christ. Since I was a religious person, I was quickly willing to accept this wonderful teaching. In the evening the Christian Scientist read to me enlightening passages from the Bible and Science and Health. Included were these words from I Corinthians (13:13): "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." It was a wonderful atmosphere of thought I was invited to enter. I had to learn to perceive this love spoken of in Corinthians.
