Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 213, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 September 1912 — FIVE HAVE UNIQUE MALADY [ARTICLE]

FIVE HAVE UNIQUE MALADY

Children Are Helpless From an Unusual Disease —Doctors Call It Frederick’s. Ataxia. Lynchburg, Va. —With the death and burial a day or so ago of C. C. Mitchell, in Bedford county, is brought to' light a remarkable and wholesale case of affliction. He is survived by his wife and five children. All ©f these children, who range in age from about ,12 to over 20 years, are afflicted in the most unusual and remarkable manner with a disease knowm as Frederick’s ataxia, which renders them almost helpless, without power to perform any service for themselves, unable to speak intelligently, yet they are not without intelligence. With the intuition of a mother’s devotion she has trained their memories in a remarkable degree, teaching them to-repeat in jargon that she alone cap understand, hymns, selections from the Bible and simple poems. Mitchell and his wife* were very poor and some years since the small farm they had bought, but upon which they had not been able to make the payments, had to be sold. The case seemed so unutterably pitiable that through the newspapers the story was told and help asked. To the appeal there was quick and generous response from many parts of the United States and even from Central America. Funds sufficient were thus secured to make full payment for the farm. With debt removed Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell made a comfortable support from the farm for themselves and their helpless brood of children. .. i Cases of this disease are very rare and attract much interest among medical men. One of the children was sent when' quite young to thw Johns Hopkins hospital, of Baltimore, for examination and the case was pronounced hopeless of*any amelioration. One of the girls, who seemed less helpless than the ethers, was sent to Richmond to Or. Allison Hedges and be exhibited her before

the medical class of the University College of Medicine, but declared no medical or surgical skill would avail.