The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-07-12
NECK BROKEN, He
STOOD UNAIDED
Waldorf MiIIeT'S Case Has Sur
pTiSed the Doctors.
ASTONISHED HIS FRIENDS.
Rose Twice to His Feet and Remained
Erect For Seconds-Predicted He
Would Live and Seems to Be Fulfill
ine the Prophecy.


Would Live and Seems to Be Fulfill
ing the Prophecy.
Faith never worked greater wonders
than in the case of Waldorf Miller,
New York man who lives with bro
ken neck and continues to show mark
ed improvement when, by all the tenets
of medical science, he should be a
hopeless paralytic, with the only puz-
zle that he lives at all.
Recently for the first time since he
was injured, year ago, he stood un-
assisted upon his feet He was erect
only about five seconds. Then he fell
back in his chair, but to prove to any
possible doubters that 1t had not been
merely a trick display of strength he
rose again and this time stood up
right for the full space of half a minute
and resumed his seat only at the urg-
ing Of others.
This exhibition of strength and the
use of his legs by young Miller proved
more astonishing to physicians and sur
geons than to laymen. At the time Mil
Ter was lying unconscious in the hos
pital directly after he was injured
they could see nothing ahead of him
but speedy death. When he improved
there arose doubt about the diagnosis,
and the Y ray was brought into play.
The photograph showed q broken GER
vical vertebra. Then the surgeons said
he might linger on in hopeless con-
dition of paralysis and that certainly
h. to- &c e,
legs or even be able to move them at
will.
A Curious Phase of the Case.
There was a curious phase of the
case that did not enter into the prOgno-
sis Of the physicians, as it was not then
written into its history.
Miller, who was twenty-one years
old, went to Hudson park, New Ro-
chelle, n. Y, on July 8, 1911, with
other members of the Iroquois Social
club. About Il dozen of the most dar-
ing of the young men slipped away
from the others for a swim. Miller
dived off high rock and did not come
to the surface. He was rescued from
twenty feet Of water.
Three years before Frederick, his
elder brother and the only other child
Df their widowed mother, dived at al
most identically the same spot and
broke his neck. He lived ten days
When Waldorf surprised the physi-
rians by regaining consciousness sew
eral days after he had been hurried to
the hospital he seemed TO know the
nature of his injury. He asked how
long he had been in the hospital and
said:
'If I can live longer than Fred did
| shall recover"
The ten days passed and Waldorf
was still living. He became more
cheerful and whistled and talked all
day. His faith grew stronger and
stronger as the days passed, and death
was still in the future and finally de-
rlared:
"I'll fool them yet. l am going TO
get better, and some day I shall be
able TO walk on crutches.'
Miller first showed that his body
was recovering from complete paraly-
sis by moving his fingers. Then he
could move his arms. When he had
made this much progress he was re-
moved from the hospital to the home
Of his mother. He has steadily been
gaining strength and not many days
ago found that he could move his legs.
How He Came to Stand Up.
One day recently a number Of his
friends were visiting Miller and were
grouped about his chair out on the
lawn.
"WaRy,. can't you stand on your feet