A Look Back at 1922

The Toronto General Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was originally a shed used to hospitalize the wounded military during the War of 1812. From that year on, though, it has moved and grown several times; it has served well the sick, wounded and the healthcare industry. It became a teaching hospital in 1913. On Dec. 2, 1921, the hospital was getting ready to make known its vital importance once again. On that date, a small boy, Leonard Thompson, was admitted. Though he was 14 years old, he was malnourished and lethargic, his hair was falling out and he only weighed 65 pounds. He had been diagnosed with severe juvenile diabetes with ketosis. In those days, with a diagnosis of diabetes, the prognosis was death—there was no cure. Dr. JRR McLeod and Dr. FG Banting were on hand to help. There had been successful research done on canines with diabetes mellitus, and both doctors had been studying the research, hoping to use it to cure humans with the disease. First, they tried careful diet, which did not work. By Jan. 11, 1922, Leonard was not getting any better. The first trial of an insulin injection was described as a "thick brown muck" of beef pancreas extract. This made his blood sugar drop approximately 25 percent. The doctors worked on the injections and were able to separate the insulin from the "muck" and, on Jan. 23, again injected Leonard, which resulted in immediate improvement in the boy, both in his blood sugar and his emotional and physical health. With repeated injections (about 85 units a day), he lived another 13 years, until he died of pneumonia.

That same year in America, the beautiful Lincoln Monument was dedicated. The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, will be remembered for many things—preserving the nation, his deep love for our country, but probably mostly, his integrity ("Honest Abe"). He was born simply in a cabin; did not learn to read or write until his in his teens; lost his beloved mother at a young age, his brother in infancy, his sister, to whom he was very close, when she was in childbirth with her first child; had four children and only one survived to adulthood, but he still rose to become honest, loving and wellloved in return. The monument built for him by the citizens of his country reflects this. The design sits is in the form of a Greek temple with 36 columns portraying the 36 states of the union at the time of his death. Above the columns are the 50 state names and the dates they entered the union.

There is an interesting idea some have about Lincolns' 19-foot statute. It was carved by the Piccinilli Brothers under the supervision of the sculptor Daniel Chester French, taking four years to complete. French had a son that was deaf. During his presidency, Lincoln signed the federal legislation that gave Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf, the authority to grant college degrees. What is interesting is that Lincoln's hands on his statue sign his initials—his left hand signs an "A" and his right hand signs a "L."

Many well-known actors and actresses were born this year: Barbara Hale of Perry Mason fame, Veronica Lake and her silken hair over her one eye, funny man Sid Caesar, and Yvonne De Carlo of Munster fame, to name just a few.

In sports this year, the American Professional Football Association is renamed as The National Football League, with the Canton Bulldogs winning the title. In the World Series, the NY Giants defeat the NY Yankees, 4-0 with one tie.

At the movies, boys were able to shield their girls, hiding their own terror as the silent but chilling Nosferatu, directed by R.W. Murnau, glared menacingly at them back from the screen. On rainy days, they would curl up beside a fire and read with their favorite authors, Agatha Christie in The Secret Adversary, Baroness Orczy, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel or Edgar Wallace and The Valley of Ghosts; or if they were babysitting, Margery Williams and The Velveteen Rabbit.

Holly Gerard holds a degree in Sociology/Gerontology from Baylor University. She is a writer and consultant on elder care.