“I will not touch one particle of liquor; neither will I be tied down, but ... I will have my Father sit on the bed close by me.” — Joseph Smith Jr.1
When Joseph Smith Jr. was young, he suffered from typhoid fever and developed an infection in his left leg bone (a condition known today as osteomyelitis).2 At the time, treating this usually meant amputating the infected limb, but there was an experimental alternative that involved removing the infected portions of the bone. Luckily, Doctor Nathan Smith, the founder of Dartmouth Medical School, was in the area—and was one of the few surgeons in the country who could perform the experimental surgery.2
Joseph Jr. asked his mother to leave the room and asked his father to stay and hold him so he would not need to be bound.2 The surgery was difficult and painful, with no anesthesia or pain relief. As Lucy Mack Smith later recalled, Joseph Jr. even refused any alcohol to dull the pain.3
The surgery was successful. The recovery took years, but Joseph was able to walk again.4 He had a slight limp for the rest of his life.2
