Árdís - 01.01.1953, Page 73

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
71
Sister Kenny
By INGIBJORG S. BJARNASON
Strange are the workings of destiny. A broken wrist and a
delicate brother were to be the pilot light of the life of Elizabeth
Kenny.
Born of an Irish father and a Scots mother in that fabulous
land “down under” during the latter part of the nineteenth century,
Elizabeth Kenny enjoyed a happy, normal, childhood. Then, one
day, her horse threw her and broke her wrist. The pain of the
broken wrist was forgotten somewhat in the importance of the
occasion. Elizabeth required a doctor’s attention, the first of the
Kenny’s to do so!
During her subsequent stay at the home of Dr. Aneas McDonnell,
she became vitally interested in medicine. By the time the wrist
was cured Elizabeth had become familiar with the workings and
position of every muscle in the body. On returning home she
decided to try out her new theories to improve the physique of
her delicate young brother. By means of exercise, sometimes quite
strenuous, his body grew strong and muscular. He was decorated
for bravery in World War I.
From then on Dr. McDonnell became her mentor and lifelong
friend. Elizabeth, always a lover of outdoor life, grew to robust
womanhood and could hike and ride like a man. The veneration
for her God-fearing mother and admiration for Dr. McDonnell,
fired her with a desire to become a medical missionary. But by
the time she had graduated from a private hospital that idea had
fled. Instead, she decided to devote her time to nursing in a home
mission field. Romance was put aside, albeit not without remorse,
in favor of helping the frontier’s people “out back.”
Destiny again took a hand in Sister Kenny’s life. A wire from
Dr. McDonnell which read, “Infantile Paralysis. No known treat-
ment. Do what you can with the symptoms presenting themselves”
was the spark that kindled the now famous Kenny method of
treating Infantile Paralysis. Faced with six sick children violently
ill, she had turned to her old friend for help. Far from a hospital
with only her two hands, blankets, boiling water and a fervent faith