Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1913-01-24
TURNING TO STONE
Farmers Trouble Started With
Stiff Neck Is Years Ago.
With Exception Of His Eyes, HIs
Tongue and Arms From E,bev
Down, He 10 One Huge
Piece Of Bone.

Frank Worden Of Colfax, la, win
give $1,000 to any surgeon In IN.
United States who will break his bach
with anything short OF q sledge ham
mer. Worden was in Omaha a
short time ago and was seen by ,
number of physicians. but when hs
left the city he carried his thousand
dollars with him.
Worden is an ossifed man-th.
only real one In the country. He ia
also a farmer and lives near Colfax
la. With the exception OF his eyes bin
tongue and his arms FROM the elbow
down, he Is. one huge piece of bone
without a joint or d hinge of anv
kind. His body Is as hard as stops
and as rigid az piece Of steel. Ex.
cept as noted, he cannot move sin.
gle muscle Of his entire body. All
day and all night he lies straight and
stiff. motionless. He can no, laugh:
he can not even smile.
Eighteen years ago Worden was 4
farmer living near Colfax., One morn.
ing he awoke with a stir neck. There
was no, pain, but he could not move
his head as freely az had been his Gus.
tom. He paid no attention to il at
first. But the affection grew worse.
and he finally consulted the family
physician.
Just little Stiffness" said the
doctor. "That'u soon wear off,"
But the stiffness did not pass away.
And Worden went back to the doctor.
And this time the doctor found some
thing that puzzled him. While max.
ing his examination, he discovered
that Worden had lost practically all
feeling in the neck. And then he
called in another doctor.
The second physician was also puz-
zled Looks like this fellow is turn
ing into big 5one," said the new
doctor. And then they discovered that,
in fact, Worden was actually turning
to bone. His flesh tissues were hard
ening.
Other physicians and surgeons were
called in, but they were never able
to stop the ravages Of the peculiar
malady.
When Worden felt his Jaws becom-
ing set, he placed small wedges Of
wood between his teeth. and in that
position the lower portion Of his face
became rigid. In time the wedges
were removed and the teeth were left
about half an inch apart. Through
this aperture he is fed liquid FOODS.
He cannot now masticate. but he can
swallow liquids of any kind that are
put INTO his mouth.
Gradually the hardening went Gown
ward, affecting his body, his limbs and
then his feet. Eight years after the
morning when he discovered his stif
neck Worden's feet and ankles were
as rigid as those Of stone image
Years before that time his legs had
succumbed to the strange disease, and
it was as impossible to use his hip
joints, as it would be for wooden
Indian to walk. y
BY this time, also. the arms were
perfectly rigid, except at the elbow.
The wrists, fingers and forearm are
all pliable, although Worden says he
can feel that his hands are getting
little bit heavier than they were for
merly. This indicates, he says, that
these members have at last become A.
fected.
Surgeons say there is no regular cir
culation of the blood through Word
ems body, but that this flow has de-
generated into simply a seepage. In
time it will cease altogether.
Worden lies on his back I'll the
time, and he does not get weary. his
body is not sore from its contact with
the bed. There are no bed Sores,
as is often the case with chronic heo'
ridden invaIids.