Evening star., 1950-11-09
Peggy Jean Plays With Puzzle
AS Doctors Study Rare AIment
10-Yeur-OId Girl
Uses Fingers Well
Despite Wasting

Little Peggy Jean Walker sat
in her bed at George Washington
Hospital and fitted together the
pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
The 10-year-old blond girl used
her fingers we'll as she played,
considering that a strange dis
ease during the last nine years
has caused all of her fingertips
to waste away.
Her mother sat in a chair be-
side the bed as she has every day
for the last two weeks. Peggy
was brought here October "a for
the latest and most promising at
tempt in nine-year search to find
out why fragments of bone have
wasted from first her fingers and
now her toes.
It all began when Peggy was
Is months old. The father, Isaac
Walker, returned one evening
from the mine where he works
in the little town of Marvel, Ala
He and the mother noticed sores
on several of the child's finger
tips.
Pieces of Bone Appear.
"We thought she had burned
her fingers on the stove" the
mother said, as she sat by Peggy's
bedside But in a few days
pieces of bone began coming out
of her fingertips.
Her fingers were swollen, and
I took her to a doctor. He couldn't
understand what was the matter
Then I took her to a hospital
They thought I was hysterical
when I told them about the pieces
of bone. But they couldn't fool
me. I knew what it was"
Finally Mrs. Walker took Peggy
TO a bone specialist in Birming-
ham, about 80 miles north o1
Marvel.
"The specialist told me he had
never seen anything like it. He
said, Look, I've got gray hair
and I've been practicing a long
time. but I don't know what this
is.'" the mother continued.
So over period of about a year
various doctors puzzled over the
strange malady. They bandaged
Peggy's fingers and soaked them
with medicines. But soon all OF
her fingers were thickened stubs
UNIV Fund Helps.
Then the sores went away and
the bone fragments stopped ap-
pearing for several years.
But all that treatment was
costing U.S." Mrs. Walker said. 80
we took out disqualification in
surance. That helped. But we
could never have really helped
Peggy without the United Mine
Workers welfare fund.
Some people think miners
make a lot of money. Well. Isaac
makes $12 day. But right now
he's only working three days q
week. I wish he could come up
here, but he can't afford it,
All the time. Peggy has led the
normal active life Of any young
girl. She loves to play with other
children. She is now in the fifth
grade.
"She's done all right in school" j"
said Mrs. Walker. She's been
out, of course, to go to the hos
pital-sometimes for four months
out of a school year. But I help
her with her work at home"
Just when things seemed to be
looking up. the disease struck
Peggy's feet. The little toe of her
right foot is gone. But this time
the UNIV welfare fund stepped
in and offered the Walkers the
best of treatment. George WASH
ington Hospital was suggested be-
cause it is one ofthe finest dag
nostic centers in the country.
May Know Answer Soon.
THE welfare fund paid for our
train trip up here. and they'll
pay the fare back" said Mrs. Wal
ker. People up here have been
wonderful. The other day a pa
tient sent us this television set
He said that. after Peggy leaves,
he'll donate it to the hospital. The
gift shop downstairs gave Peggy
this rubber frog. Another patient
gave her the jigsaw puzzles and
the doll"
Mrs. Walker is staying in a
rooming house across the street