Triumph at Carville

Mar 13, 2008 at 8:28 AM
9 comments

"If this film had been an opera," writes former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, "I would have stood and cheered, 'Bravo!'"

PBS is broadcasting this show, which includes audio clips of interviews with my grandmother and grandfather. Grandma had contracted leprosy somehow during internment and, as was policy at the time, was quarantined in the Carville, Louisiana leprosarium.

There's a video clip here: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/player.cfm?id=3909#clip_1
Info on the show on PBS's web site: http://www.pbs.org/triumphatcarville/
Leprosy in recent news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4799993.stm

It's somewhat hokey now, but I love the snippet of dialog they have in the clip from Hans and Gertrude. I'm off to see if Tivo has it listed yet.

9 comments

Tags:

Comments

[this is good]

Great story where people without hope are unexpectedly give new hope.

I find the timing interesting. It was recently in the news (I can't find it now, though), that there are a number of leprosy cases that can't be cured because the bacillus has become immune to the traditional medication that was used in Carville.

I think it was the Saturday Evening Post that interviewed my grandparents after they moved to New York after her discharge from Carville. They spoke about the stigma attached to the disease and how they were dealing with it just fine.

shucks, I'm such a dork. the video clip made me cry! hahahahahah. i've never, ever heard grandpa's voice before and this is a first. and it was nice to hear grandma's again. i have such few memories of her.

You do? You were 2 1/2 when it happened so that was pretty good. She was pretty mellow by then. Yeah, I cried too though. Some soldiers we are! LOL.

Wow.. that's great that they have this available. That was a miracle! Have you let NM and J listen to their grandparent's voices?

yeah, i remember i used to feed her sometimes. manang oneng or whoever else was supposed to but i would volunteer. hehe

Hi Ayen! Kumusta na? No, I haven't because they've been in bed when I listened to the "greats."

Kay...you fed her? I guess that was when she was already sick? She was so sad then because she got so skinny. That was hard for me to watch.

Hi Phisch, mabuti naman. Thanks.

I'm looking forward to next week. I'm off Thursday and Friday. Woohoo! :)

I'ts great that you have those available for them to hear someday.

Dear Phisch

Greetings. I found your posting online a few days ago because I have a Google alert set up on news and blog postings about Carville/leprosy/Hansen's disease.

I am the curator of the National Hansen's Disease Museum in Carville, LA. I gather that your grandmother was a patient here? What I know of them I have gathered from reading "The STAR" patient published magazine as well as a couple of patient authored autobiographies. Althought the hospital that was at Carville closed at that location in 1999, the National Hansen's Disease Programs still runs clinical care and research in Baton Rouge. The museum is located on the grounds of the old hospital, which is now a historic district and home to the LA Army National Guard.

Here is the website www.hrsa.gov/hansens/museum

If you should ever find yourself in the area, please stop in. I would love to give you a tour. In addition to the documentary, the Nat'l Museum of Health and Medicine will have a "Carville" exhibit up for the next 6+ months.

Best wishes,

Elizabeth Schexnyder, Curator

National Hansen's Disease Museum, T 225/642-1950, eschexnyder@hrsa.gov