It was August of 1936, a month before Carolyn was to start school. The air was cool against her cheeks, and the ground was wet after a big rain. Following the storm Carolyn asked to scooter on the front walk. From the main road, her house sunk into a ravine. She started her ride on the walkway at the stairs which came down from the street. The walkway curved in an S shape, bending right and then left ending at the porch. As she rode her scooter down the walkway she picked up a lot of velocity and followed the S curve. Instead of crashing into the porch, she veered into the grass in the yard, so she could slow down enough until and hop off. Her super neat father had dug out a gulley and while veering into the grass, her wheel suddenly got twisted in the ditch between the side walk and the grass. Carolyn propelled in to the yard and as she fell she folded her elbow in and landed elbow first into the sod. Upon falling into the soft dirt, the bone in her left arm snapped, just above the joint in the forearm.
She screamed and yelled in pain. Her mother and her father came out to check what all the commotion was about. Her dad scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the car. Their house was located near the top of a hill and the roads were horrible- narrow and bumpy with not a lot of side rails. In the car, Carolyn held her arm in a V against her chest while her mother held her securely. Her father drove like a bat out of hell down the narrow winding road. The car sped down the road, lurching and bumping which strained poor Carolyn who was curled in her mother’s lap in agonizing pain. The South Side Bridge was closed for construction and they were forced to detour onto MacCorkle Avenue, a dirt road with only one strip of concrete down the middle, which made for very bumpy ride. Eventually they crossed the South East Bridge into downtown. Father drove towards a big dark red brick building, McMillan Hospital.
The building was basic and utilitarian four story brick building. Carolyn and her parents met her doctor and owner of the hospital, Dr. McMillan and the treatment of her arm began. Her arm was still incredibly swollen and painful as they went through the general procedure. Doctors and nurses shuffled Carolyn about, they took X rays and asked questions. It was so swollen that Dr. McMillan was not sure if he would be able to set it. Carolyn had to stay Monday through Wednesday for evaluation. Dr. McMillan finally told her parents, “The break is too close to the joint- I don’t think I can set this, so we may have to amputate the arm.” At that moment, Abe fell into a fit of rage, and almost tore up the hospital. He commanded to Dr. McMillan, “Absolutely not! You will not take off her arm. I don’t care if you bend it, so she can’t bend it for the rest of her life, you are not taking it off.” Dr. McMillan did the best that they could to reset it and as a result, Carolyn continues to have a fully functioning arm. Over the next 5-6 years, Carolyn’s X-rays and case became the subject of medical seminars and paper presentations at medical conventions for the correction of such an unusual break.
Carolyn was in a cast for six weeks after getting her arm set. She started school late, and registered for first grade on the last day possible, September 30th. When Carolyn was able to take off her cast, she had to do various exercises. There was not any physical therapy back then and the doctors gave her mother instructions as to how to care for and strengthen her arm. Carolyn was instructed to lie flat on a bed with an iron doorstop tied to her wrist. It was five inches long and an inch wide with a Bronco horse rearing back. She repeatedly curled her arm with this heavy iron doorstop tied to her wrist until she gained her strength back.