Wednesday April 17th, 1912 - Pier 60 NY,NY.
Her name was simply, Julia Edinburgh – not doctor and
not professor; she was a woman after all in 1912. She was probably the
cleverest of all people working on the causes and treatment of cancers. Her
husband was a doctor, but he had grown to admire and love his wife and her
ability to see patterns and signs in medical information that most people overlooked.
She felt that after several years of investigation and
begging money from family and friends, she was now able to say categorically what
had been the initial cause of specific cancers. Even more exciting was the certainty
she felt, that she had come up with a process to halt the cell division – in other
words, a cure for some cancers.
What concerned her most was there was to be a symposium
of cancer specialists in Washington DC, on Monday the 21st of April –
all of them men. She also knew that the main speaker was going to present his
theory of cancer as a germ that is spread throughout the body. There was a
train of thought, at the time, that cancer was a small protozoa – a small
creature which transported itself from cell to cell.
She knew this was so far from the truth and that it
might put cancer research back many years. It was important that she got to
this meeting and contradicted their thoughts by presenting what she considered
a cure for the disease.
Her husband had always been a fan of ships since he was
a little boy, and it was at his suggestion that Doctor Samuel Edinburgh and his
wife, Julia should take a second class compartment aboard the Titanic on her maiden
voyage, bound for New York City. The Edinburghs would then take the train south
to Washington, in time for the meeting.
They boarded at Southampton and took pleasure in their
small but comfortable cabin. Doctor Edinburgh found that his love of ships had
him exploring all areas of the Titanic. This allowed his wife to spend her time
writing and re-writing her presentation on the causes and cures for cancer.
It was on the evening of Sunday the 14th of
April, that the doctor found himself taking a stroll on the top deck. He always
found that such a walk and taking the airs helped him sleep better. It also
allowed his darling wife a little extra time to consider her thoughts.
The doctor couldn’t believe it at first - but he ran
towards the bow, it appeared that there was an iceberg off the starboard side
of the great RMS Titanic. He ran and found a steward, whom he quickly impressed
upon, that it was important that the captain should be informed immediately.
This is what actually occurred, the captain was able to
make manoeuvres, which allowed the Titanic to swerve to the port side of the
berg. The Captain felt that he had been lucky this time and slowed the ship’s
speed for the final part of the voyage into New York.
By the time the doctor got back to his cabin, his wife
was asleep. He failed to tell her in the morning of his escapade the previous
evening.
Julia did, in fact, make the symposium on cancer in
Washington D.C. and it was her brave work which brought about the start of
cures being found for several types of cancer.
She died in 1967, in Long Island with her grandchildren
by her side.
bobby stevenson 2015
http://www.randomactsstories.blogspot.com/
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