Ping Pong Balls & Donkey’s Milk: A History of Tuberculosis in Fort Bayard New Mexico

Description

Oral histories told from unique perspective of tuberculosis patients at Fort Bayard in southwest New Mexico 1900-1949, as told to Dr. Twana Sparks. The history of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment in first half of the 20th century is reviewed. Pamphlet from 1908 and Journal of the American Medical Association 1902 tell patients and family members what to expect at the Army Sanatorium. The unusual treatments such as donkey milk consumption and ping pong ball implants make for interesting and entertaining reading. German POWs were housed in New Mexico forts at the time, and their experience is reviewed.