Love is an antidote to pain. The alleviation it can offer shines through in a documentary produced by the American Public Broadcasting Service about life in Carville, a leprosarium established in Louisiana in 1894. Without it life there would have been less vital. Without the fortitude of the patients, without the compassion of certain directors and the Sisters of Charity and without the inspiration of one inmate in particular, it could have been all too easy for many patients to have withdrawn into themselves.

On the contrary the human spirit was looking for ways to overcome the adversity of having been confined to an institution and removed from contact with family and friends. The hole in the fence allowed many a way out. They crawled through to join relatives for   a picnic or to walk to the nearest pub to relax over a drink with friends. When one of the directors was told by the authorities that measures would have to be taken to prevent people affected by leprosy “escaping”, he preserved the hole in the fence because he knew that it offered them a possibility despite the threat of punishments if discovered. 

The Sisters of Charity and directors kept pushing for improvements, such as refurbishment of the buildings and the introduction of sanitation. Eventually Carville became a world within a world, with its own church, bakery, post office, laundry, athletics field and so on. When Carville closed its doors in 1999, it had come a long way from the time of arrival of the first seven outcasts, from a pest house in Louisiana, to what was then an abandoned plantation.

Stanley Stein, a pharmacist who was diagnosed with leprosy aged 21, was taken to Carville in the 1930s. He bubbled with ideas. He was keen to introduce social activities and entertainment and motivated the residents to put on theatrical performances and shows and to participate in dances. He fervently did not believe in the necessity of segregating people who had leprosy. He started a paper The Star, which was sent around the world. He used it to advocate on behalf of all people affected by leprosy. On the sheets he tried to promote an educated attitude to leprosy, based on scientific evidence. The motto “Radiating the light of truth” appeared on every issue.

Carville patients were often used as guinea pigs and many were so desperate to be cured of leprosy they volunteered for horrendous treatments. One included “fever therapy” and being strapped up and exposed to fever-inducing temperatures. In the early 1940s many were keen to try the sulphone drug Promin, which Dr Faget knew was being used to treat people with tuberculosis. With this drug the health of many patients was restored and the cured patients became more positive about their prospects.

Often when we say “What a tale!”, “A tale like that…!” we are indicating a tall tale - an invention! Yet the stories recounted by employees, doctors, nuns, former directors and people affected by leprosy about Carville were true. Stories similar to those at Carville unfolded all over the world through time until scientists had discovered that leprosy is curable, not hereditary and far less infectious than many transmissible diseases. Not one of the employees of Carville contracted leprosy throughout its existence.

The scientific knowledge we have today means that people affected by leprosy are treated by the general public health services and patients remain living with their families in their communities. When Carville was closing its gates, some residents of Carville chose to stay. They had been there so long – a lifetime almost - it had become their home.

Many who spent time in the church at Carville when it was empty reported hearing beautiful singing, as of angels. They believed their pain had been transmuted into beautiful song. Moments such as these may have been vital in keeping their spirits up. As also their fondness and understanding of each other. Jose Ramirez, now editor of The Star and Representative of IDEA in the USA, explained he had three mothers. His birth mother, his mother-in-law and the lady who had taken him under her wing, and considered him like a son, when he first arrived in Carville.

Produced by PBS, 2008
Available on dvd (NTSC) for example from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.pbs.org/triumphatcarville/

 

The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington DC is hosting a linked exhibition at the National Museum of Health and Medicine on the campus of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center until 5^th October 2008.

For more information contact Tim Clarke: timothy.clarke@afip.osd.mil

National Museum of Health and Medicine website: http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum

 

Today Carville house a museum that commemorates all those who lived at the leprosarium and their health carers and doctors. Click here for the National Hansen’s Disease Museum:
http://www.hrsa.gov/hansens/museum/tour-carville.htm   

Categories: News and Notes, North and Central America, USA