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Brady wore a traditional Hawaiian sarong during his presentation at NLM. |
A sarong wrapped over his suit, Brady opened the presentation with a Hawaiian chant before explaining the disease’s history.
“Hansen’s disease is the scientific name of the stigma of a disease that has been around for thousands of years, [and is] recorded in the Old Testament,” he said. “In the 1840s, the disease became epidemic in Hawaii,” as Hawaiians infected through travel to China returned home. “There became a fear that Hawaii would become this bastion of leprosy.”
Native Hawaiians are more susceptible to Hansen’s disease than the world population, of which only 3 to 5 percent are at risk for the disease. Additionally, disease onset for Hawaiians in the mid-19th century typically occurred as early as 5 to 6 years old, much earlier than the median age of onset, between 20 and 30 years, found today.
“When there was a birth, the entire [Hawaiian] family would hold the baby,” Brady said, which spread this air-borne disease. After a 3- to 5-year incubation period, the disease would manifest in the child. In response, the Hawaiian king approved an “Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865.
“If you were suspected of having Hansen’s disease, you were arrested and then you went to trial,” before a board of physicians, Brady said. “If convicted, you were sentenced to life imprisonment in Kalaupapa.”
The first arrivals suffered greatly, as they found a community without housing, established agriculture or law enforcement. Some of the strongest exiles enslaved women and children. Drunkenness flourished. “And that was the hopelessness and despair of Kalaupapa of the early 1870s.”
In 1873, Fr. Damien arrived, helping to provide health care, protection to children and spiritual support. “Most of Kalaupapa saw this person as an outsider,” said Brady. They wondered, “‘How can he preach to us about being meek? He doesn’t have this disease that will kill him 5 years from now.’” But, in 1883, Fr. Damien manifested Hansen’s disease. Kalaupapa residents’ trust and respect for the priest grew and lawlessness on the peninsula decreased.
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NLM director Dr. Donald Lindberg (r) answered audience questions alongside Brady.
Photos: Bill Branson |
From the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, about 8,000 patients were exiled to Kalaupapa. Brady is the primary care physician for the remaining 19 patients, elderly Hawaiians who reside in Kalaupapa but travel freely.
“The people today in Kalaupapa see [Fr. Damien] as a spiritual father,” Brady said. In 2009, he accompanied many of the patients to Rome for the canonization of Fr. Damien. Apr. 15, the date of Fr. Damien’s death, is a statewide holiday in Hawaii.
The Kalaupapa community is now part of Kalaupapa National Historic Park, established in 1980. When the remaining Hansen’s patients die, Brady said, it is unclear what will happen to the land. Led by park staff, discussions are under way in Hawaiian communities about how best to honor the legacy of this once-shunned community.
The Native Voices exhibit, which highlights this story, is on display through fall 2013 at the National Library of Medicine.
