SEEKING THE CURE by IRA RUTKOW

Author:IRA RUTKOW
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: scribner
Published: 2010-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

“His appendix was a long affair”

While the nation’s medicine advanced dramatically after World War I, it still remained a threatening environment for many Americans struck down by illness. Medical research, medical technology, diagnostics, and surgical technique had improved but problems persisted. This era lacked intravenous fluids, respirators, even antibiotics. Supposedly conquered diseases like appendicitis continued to pose some degree of risk. And no one would learn that lesson harder than Harry Houdini, clairvoyant, conjurer, escape artist, and one of the biggest celebrities of the 1920s. Houdini had convinced America that nothing could kill him, and he appeared to be right, until the day his appendix acted up.

Much of Houdini’s success stemmed from his remarkable strength and stamina. He was one of the country’s earliest fitness buffs, and it was essential to his showmanship. The public admired his strongman appearance and well-conditioned abdominal muscles. Though he broke numerous bones and suffered countless injuries during his career, Houdini rarely missed a performance; the aura of invincible health was integral to his act. So when newspaper headlines announced in late October 1926 that the fifty-two-year-old magician was near death after an appendectomy, his supporters were shocked. For days, the nation focused on Detroit’s Grace Hospital as Houdini struggled against one postoperative complication after another.

It seemed implausible that one of the country’s most famous and health-conscious performers was dying from the ravages of appendicitis, especially given the medical success in treating the disease. Rumors swirled about how so ordinary a medical condition could fell the country’s “man of steel.” Was it true that a wild fan, wanting to verify the might of Houdini’s abdominal muscles, sucker punched the vaudevillian and inadvertently injured his appendix? Or had the performer’s pride prevented him from seeing a physician for nagging stomach pains, delaying diagnosis and creating insurmountable medical problems?

The answer was likely a combination of factors. Houdini’s busy work schedule (and his strongman’s hubris) had barred him from seeing a physician for persistent abdominal distress of several days’ duration. True, a zealous fan had recently punched Houdini in the abdomen, but this blow itself did not cause his appendicitis—physical trauma cannot precipitate appendicitis. There is little doubt that Houdini was already suffering from early appendicitis at the time he was struck. He probably ignored his increasing abdominal pain, mistakenly believing that the culprit was severe body blows and not a diseased appendix. Had the punching episode not occurred, Houdini might have realized that his continuing abdominal pain was a sign that something was very wrong and might have sought immediate medical attention.

The suffering Houdini arrived in Detroit from Montreal on Sunday evening, October 24, for a scheduled performance. His physical appearance stunned eager fans. One described him as having a “drawn face and dark shadows under tired eyes.” 21 Houdini struggled through the performance (his last show ever). His manager mentioned to a waiting reporter that “the magician complained of severe abdominal pains on the train while going to Detroit,” and that “the first twinge of pain was felt last week after he had engaged in a friendly sparring match.

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