154
August 22, 1990
John P. Nelligan, M.D.
801 Brewster Avenue
Suite 100
Redwood City, CA 94063
Dear Dr. Nelligan:
This was my first broken hip. I did not manage it very well. I
came to California 30 years ago. This was my first time in a
hospital in that time. I have enjoyed good health all my life
except that when I was a teenager a surgeon did a varicele
operation. An unnecessary disaster. Left me with varicosities
in the left leg. Since starting practice I have had a health
policy with the Metropolitan Life Insurance. I never collected a
dime.
I was very unhappy that surgery was delayed three days--in case I
had a heart attack because of my age. I was given an indwelling
catheter in case I developed kidney trouble. A gadget was
attached to my left leg with intermittent compression. This was
done in case I developed a blood clot. It was painful.
For many years I have kept the left leg warmer than the
right. I wore an elastic stocking in the daytime. Never at
night. My room in the hospital was cold and drafty. There was
air conditioning. I had difficulty getting enough bedclothes. I
got the impression that there was an underlying fear of
malpractice suits.
I had a handyman who had had a recent stroke. He was not much
help. When I resigned from the Veterans Administration I lost my
Blue Cross coverage due to an error that they made.
These are stressful times for everyone, especially for
Doctors. With present knowledge and facilities, most illnesses
are out of date. People appear to be getting sicker. One sees
too many sickly people on the streets.
For 40 years I have studied why people are healthy and not
sick. Most medical research appears in studying why people are
sick. There are countless ways of being sick, but the lifestyles
of very healthy people have usually been very simple. By
studying healthy people, I learned about nutrition. Nutrition
depends upon a number of factors. The climate. The quality of
the land. The methods of farming. The culture of the people.
I grew up in Western Canada, province of Manitoba. At that
time land was cheap. A homesteader might be given 160 acres
practically free, but he had to live there most of the year and
make certain improvements and not just hold the land for
speculation. Almost all the buffalo had been killed off. Regina,
the capital of the neighboring province of Saskatchawan, was
originally called Pile of Bones. It had become a landmark due to
an enormous pile of buffalo skeletons. I was there when World
War I started. I saw Halley's Comet. Food was cheap and
wonderful. There was plenty of wild game. My parents were very
healthy. I never remember my mother being sick, or my father.
Mother looked well until she died at age 89. My mother believed
that the more good food one ate, the healthier they could be.
People ate plenty of eggs. They would buy them in the summer
when they were plentiful and cheap and put them up in waterglass,
which is silicate--I think it was sodium silicate--I'm not sure.
It was a white powder which when put in water formed a jelly
which kept the air away from the egg. It was a common practice.
I was born into a natural paradise--I didn't realize it.
There were practically no fat people. I brought up this story to
illustrate that hearty eating is not detrimental to the health in
itself. People worked very hard. There was poverty.
Bureaucracy had not caught up with them. I am talking about a
brief period in history which may never recur. People today are
not ill from too much food. It is the junk food, lifestyle and
the fear. One sees too many sickly people.
Plato said that ignorance is the IGNORING OF KNOWLEDGE, rather
than a lack of it. Presently. too many people, are ignoring
vital medical knowledge. They ignore what I call the ancient
wisdom. Most sickness, today, is predicable and preventable
so it should be a time of great hope.
I am hopeful that you younger doctors enter a glorious time in
the great profession of medicine.
The subject of health is too big for a letter but it gives
you a glimpse into my mind.
I have been a conservationist all my adult life. I have
practiced preventive medicine. This included counseling,
which helped the lives of many people.
Presently, the government encourages smoking by talking so
much about death and longevity. I told young girls. that they
would lose their beauty. That their skin would feel cold.
They would smell unpleasant to a nonsmoker.
About 40 years ago, I did research on about 5000 eye
patients. I found that for those who began smoking in
their teens, they needed bifocals about 5 years sooner than
the average.
Perhaps I have not been materialistic enough, but I am
still alive and it helps my self esteem.
Wishing you and your loved ones, long life, good health,
friendships and the joy of working with others.
May all of you be able to walk the streets without fear and be
proud of your country.
Yours sincerely.
Robert H. Little M.D.
