Modern Woodmen Tuberculosis Sanatorium
While there was no cure for Tuberculosis in 1926— (that wouldn't happen for another 20 years)—treatment at sanatoriums centered on restorative issues including high calorie diets to counteract wasting (weight loss) from chronic lack of appetite, and frequent exposure to fresh, dry air as it was believed that TB issues were aggravated by eastern coastal urban pollution and higher humidity.
Which explains why sanatoriums were predominant east of the Mississippi.
The Modern Woodmen Tuberculosis Sanatorium was considered one of the best facilities. Patients were housed in separate, detached "Gardiner Tents" which actually were self-supporting wooden huts. The idea behind them was to limit the spread, through coughing and airborne germs, of the TB virus.
The contagion and stigma of TB was so strong that a person with the diagnosis would go directly from the doctor's office to the train station to board the next western-bound train.
The photos in this collection from 1926 to 1927 of Earl Carson at the Modern Woodmen Sanatorium suggests that his departure was also hasty and designed to reassure his family—who no doubt already had suspicions to his illness—that he was well and seeking treatment.
ColoradoColorado SpringsEarl Etonia CarsonModern Woodmen Sanitorium
