The Health of the First Ladies: Medical Histories from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by M.D. Ludwig M. Deppisch
Authors: M.D. Ludwig M. Deppisch
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Acknowledgments
Once again I have discovered that the writing of a book of history is a long, arduous, and complex undertaking. For an author to complete this task, the assistance of many is a necessity. To those people, the following acknowledgments in print are but a modest and inadequate expression of my appreciation.
I owe special thanks to Dr. Jeanne Clarke for her unselfish commentary and copyediting of the manuscript; to Dr. Connie Mariano for her generosity in sharing her unique perspective on the workings of the White House Medical Unit; to Dr. Katherine Morrissey, teacher extraordinaire, for her encouragement and insights; to Andre Sobocinski, a splendid public servant, for his knowledge and assistance in innumerable ways.
Hannah Fisher, research librarian of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library, was never presented with the name of an obscure physician whose biography she failed to locate. Carl Sferrazza Anthony, historian to the National First Ladies’ Library, graciously answered my many requests for information. Mike Shaw’s computer skills were of great assistance in the final organization of the manuscript.
Special thanks are owed to the National First Ladies’ Library, Canton, Ohio. This unique institution has become a comprehensive repository of information related to America’s first ladies. Its extensive bibliography became for me an indispensible source of first ladies information.
I am grateful to the many librarians and archivists who responded to my requests with generosity and patience: Kevin Bailey, Ellen Brightly, Jennifer Capps, Tiffany Cole, Peggy Dillard, Judith Graham, David Haugard, Nancy Johnson, Laura Karas, Patrick Kerwin, Pat Krider, Nancy Miller, Nancy Hord Patterson, Arlene Shaner, Heidi Stello, Cynthia Van Ness. My sincere apologies to anyone whose assistance I may have neglected to acknowledge.
Thank you to my medical colleagues whose insights and counsel have been most helpful in the writing of this book: Doctors Rob Darling, Jonathan Davidson, Emanuel Husu, Howard Lein, Alan Levenson, Hugh Smith and Dick Tubb.
And finally, and most important, thank you to my wonderful family: my children, Barbara, Carl and Rich, my grandchildren Nick, Joey and Jake, and, above all, my dear wife, Rosemarie. The book is done. I am back in your lives.
Foreword
Dr. Connie Mariano
When I first arrived at the White House in 1992 as the new White House physician, I received a detailed orientation covering my responsibilities. I was to take care of the president but was also responsible for the care of the first lady. I was instructed early in my nine-year White House tour that any statements regarding the president’s health were to be issued though the White House press secretary with the approval of the president. On the other hand, there were to be no statements issued about the health of the first lady. Since the wife of the president was not an elected official, her health and medical history were considered private issues and not for discussion in the press.
In his The Health of the First Ladies, Dr. Lud Deppisch breaks taboo and tradition. He explores the health history of each of the first ladies in a scholarly and comprehensive manner. He demonstrates that each first lady is representative of the women of her ea. He divulges through his meticulous research their medical issues, access to care, and the way they were each treated in sickness and in health.
Why is the health of the first lady significant? When you look at the inner circle of the president of the United States, no one has greater access to, and intimacy with, the president than the first lady. She is the first voice he hears every morning and the last voice he hears every night. If the first lady suffers from an illness, her condition most likely would impact the president’s attention, concern, and, ultimately, his ability to function in office. Dr. Deppisch offers an illuminating and fascinating look at
Once again I have discovered that the writing of a book of history is a long, arduous, and complex undertaking. For an author to complete this task, the assistance of many is a necessity. To those people, the following acknowledgments in print are but a modest and inadequate expression of my appreciation.
I owe special thanks to Dr. Jeanne Clarke for her unselfish commentary and copyediting of the manuscript; to Dr. Connie Mariano for her generosity in sharing her unique perspective on the workings of the White House Medical Unit; to Dr. Katherine Morrissey, teacher extraordinaire, for her encouragement and insights; to Andre Sobocinski, a splendid public servant, for his knowledge and assistance in innumerable ways.
Hannah Fisher, research librarian of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library, was never presented with the name of an obscure physician whose biography she failed to locate. Carl Sferrazza Anthony, historian to the National First Ladies’ Library, graciously answered my many requests for information. Mike Shaw’s computer skills were of great assistance in the final organization of the manuscript.
Special thanks are owed to the National First Ladies’ Library, Canton, Ohio. This unique institution has become a comprehensive repository of information related to America’s first ladies. Its extensive bibliography became for me an indispensible source of first ladies information.
I am grateful to the many librarians and archivists who responded to my requests with generosity and patience: Kevin Bailey, Ellen Brightly, Jennifer Capps, Tiffany Cole, Peggy Dillard, Judith Graham, David Haugard, Nancy Johnson, Laura Karas, Patrick Kerwin, Pat Krider, Nancy Miller, Nancy Hord Patterson, Arlene Shaner, Heidi Stello, Cynthia Van Ness. My sincere apologies to anyone whose assistance I may have neglected to acknowledge.
Thank you to my medical colleagues whose insights and counsel have been most helpful in the writing of this book: Doctors Rob Darling, Jonathan Davidson, Emanuel Husu, Howard Lein, Alan Levenson, Hugh Smith and Dick Tubb.
And finally, and most important, thank you to my wonderful family: my children, Barbara, Carl and Rich, my grandchildren Nick, Joey and Jake, and, above all, my dear wife, Rosemarie. The book is done. I am back in your lives.
Foreword
Dr. Connie Mariano
When I first arrived at the White House in 1992 as the new White House physician, I received a detailed orientation covering my responsibilities. I was to take care of the president but was also responsible for the care of the first lady. I was instructed early in my nine-year White House tour that any statements regarding the president’s health were to be issued though the White House press secretary with the approval of the president. On the other hand, there were to be no statements issued about the health of the first lady. Since the wife of the president was not an elected official, her health and medical history were considered private issues and not for discussion in the press.
In his The Health of the First Ladies, Dr. Lud Deppisch breaks taboo and tradition. He explores the health history of each of the first ladies in a scholarly and comprehensive manner. He demonstrates that each first lady is representative of the women of her ea. He divulges through his meticulous research their medical issues, access to care, and the way they were each treated in sickness and in health.
Why is the health of the first lady significant? When you look at the inner circle of the president of the United States, no one has greater access to, and intimacy with, the president than the first lady. She is the first voice he hears every morning and the last voice he hears every night. If the first lady suffers from an illness, her condition most likely would impact the president’s attention, concern, and, ultimately, his ability to function in office. Dr. Deppisch offers an illuminating and fascinating look at
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