Ellen White: Woman of Vision

The Accident and Its Aftermath

In his report of the accident, written Monday, February 15, sent to relatives and friends and published in the Review and Herald, W. C. White described what happened: WV 543.5

Sabbath morning, Mother appeared to be as well as usual. About noon, as she was entering her study from the hallway, she tripped and fell. Her nurse, May Walling, who was in the hall about twenty feet away, hastened to her assistance, and endeavored to help her onto her feet. When Mother cried out with pain, May lifted her into a rocking chair, pulled the chair through the hall to Mother's bedroom and got her to bed. Then May telephoned to Dr. Klingerman at the sanitarium, and at once applied fomentations to the hip, where the pain seemed to be the greatest. WV 543.6

When the doctor came, he said that it was either a bad sprain or a fracture, and advised an X-ray examination at the sanitarium. This examination showed an “intracapsular fracture of the left femur at the junction of the head and the neck.” Mother bore very patiently all the painful experiences of being carried from her room to the sanitarium and back again. WV 543.7

Sara McEnterfer, who was her traveling companion and secretary most of the time for thirty years, is with her; and so is May Walling, who was brought up in her home, and who has been her faithful nurse for about two years. Mrs. Hungerford, a trained nurse from the sanitarium, is also with her (The Review and Herald, March 11, 1915). WV 543.8

Sunday morning Dr. Klingerman arranged to have a hospital bed sent down to the White home. This was set up in her spacious and cheery writing room, close to the bathroom with its conveniences. As W. C. White told the story to readers of the Review, he continued: WV 544.1

Mother occupies her study, where for the last ten busy years she did most of her writing. Sometimes when half awake she asks how long the journey will take, and when she will get home; and then, when fully awake, she says, “I am right here in my own room.” WV 544.2

In our seasons of prayer Mother unites with her usual fervor and clearness of thought, expressing complete confidence and entire resignation. WV 544.3

Since her accident she has told me that she feels that her work is done, her battles ended, and that she is willing to lie down and sleep till the resurrection morning, unless there is yet some special work the Lord has for her to do (Ibid.). WV 544.4

And thus it was for the next five months till mid-July. Her son's frequent reports through the Review and Herald and in his letters indicate that she had good days and days not so good, but that she was spared from any great suffering. WV 544.5

Soon after the accident, W. C. White reported that “when we ask her if she is suffering pain, she will start to say Yes; then she stops and says, ‘It is not so painful as it might be, but I cannot say that it is comfortable’” (WCW to AGD, March 1, 1915). A few weeks later, when asked what kind of day she had had, she replied, “A good day—in spots” (WCW to S. N. Haskell, April 30, 1915). WV 544.6

By early June there was a rapid decline in her physical condition. One of the three nurses mentioned earlier was constantly with her. Relatives, friends, and neighbors were frequent visitors. A wheelchair was secured, and on pleasant days she was taken out on the little porch directly over the main entrance to the home, facing south. This she much enjoyed. On most days she would sit in a chair for several hours, and at nights she usually slept well. As time went on her appetite waned. On one occasion as Sara was coaxing her to eat, her response showed that she had not lost her sense of humor: “Well, Sara,” she said, “I would not want to die before my time by overeating” (as told to A. L. White). WV 544.7