Mystery of the Lizard lady of Akron

[Lionel]

The strange case of Lovie Herman puzzled doctors for more than a decade.Many physicians examined the Akron native during her short, troubled life, but each diagnosis seemed to conflict with the previous one, and the treatments did little to comfort her.The 20-year-old woman weighed less than 90 pounds even though she stood 5 feet 6 and had a hearty appetite. She suffered stomach pains, hemorrhages and occasional blackouts, and had great difficulty breathing. Her skin grew splotchy and her lips turned purple.At one time or another, health experts suggested that the mystery illness might be tuberculosis or typhoid fever or heart trouble or a respiratory problem.Or maybe it was somethingelse entirely.

When Herman lost her struggle shortly after midnight on Dec. 9, 1910, the reported cause of death jolted the medical community and sent a shock wave through Northeast Ohio.

It was the stuff of nightmares.

Dr. Alex J. McIntosh, Herman's attending physician, certified that his patient had succumbed ``due to stomach trouble caused by lizards in the stomach poisoning the entire system.''

Newspaper reporters snapped to attention. Did he say lizards?

``There is absolutely no question about the lizards being found in the girl's stomach, for I have the two largest ones preserved in a bottle in my office,'' McIntosh said.

He also reported finding a batch of eggs in a tiny ball.

The green reptiles had been in her system a long time, he said. Herman's family told him that she had taken a dip in a ``cool, refreshing spring'' near Millersburg a dozen years earlier, and it must have been there that the girl accidentally swallowed tiny lizards or possibly their eggs, he said.

A few days before Herman's death, McIntosh said he had given the woman a strong dose of medicine under the assumption that she was suffering from a tapeworm. That's when, he said, she could feel the reptiles ``crawl up her throat.''

``They are each 3 ½ inches in length,'' he said. ``One lizard is as well formed as any I have ever seen. I also extracted several smaller lizards from Miss Herman's stomach, but I have kept only the two largest ones. The head, mouth and tail on both are to be plainly seen.''

View: Full Article | Source: Ohio.com