Dr. Esther Loring Richards
41 W. Preston Street
Baltimore, Maryland12-26-27
Lady dear,
I know I shall like the Manchester Guardian. I enjoyed the London Times a great deal while I was in England.
No, I shall not be going home either Christmas or New Years. I have the shingles - herpeszoster [sad face]. Pain began 2 weeks ago over my left lower ribs from spine around to abdomen. Dec. 17th the blisters appeared. I spent Christmas in bed and am still there. No position day or night is comfortable. I take nothing in the daytime, but 1 1/2 gms of codina [?] enables me to get 4 or 5 hrs. sleep at night. Every day I get up & go over to my office for 2 or 3 hrs. & then go back to bed. It is just as comfortable working as lying in bed, and the job by virtue of its necessity for concentration distracts me more than reading. All the specialists in town have wanted to go over me, but I haven't had any doctor. Nobody knows the cause of the condition. The old theory of rheumatoid & gouty diathesis, or some subtle infection like tbc. is quite exploded. The latest research believes that herpeszoster is a specific infection of the posterior root ganglia coming in thro' the g i tract. Herpes simplex (cold sore) has been discovered to belong to the encephatic [sic] filtrable [sic] virus group. So with this cold comfort I curse in solitude. Dr. Meyer is [in] N.Y.C. at some meetings.
I have just accepted a bid to go to Canada Feb. 27th & 28th, speaking at the Univ. of Toronto & at MacGill in Montreal. The invitation was couched in such flattering terms that I couldn't resist. "There is no one in America better able to present mental hygiene to an audience." So of course I fell for that. I had a fine time in Chicago, large audiences of 500, eager and appreciative. This fall I've been in Syracuse, Buffalo and Phil.
Father is going to Greenwich this week I hope. In Nov. I went up to see him. I'm no pleasure to him anymore. Augustus was on. F. refused to go to Greenwich this winter or have a telephone. I'm glad he's changed his mind. Talking to him does no good; in fact it makes him more set.
I hope your back is better.
Much love to you
from
Esther