Peter Borik (1942)

[Music] the story of Agnes and Clara boric and their family could happen in your town right next door to you it could happen to the rich man and to the poor man the office worker or the farmer a white man or a negro it could happen to the young and it could happen to the Aged it could happen to anyone it is the story of a willful man who refused to believe the truth because he stubbornly and perversely rejected the truth he brought tragedy to those closest to him he turned a deaf ear to experienced men of medicine who sought to help him in his fight against tubercul osis instead he chose to rely on the advice of charlatans and quacks it is the story of Peter boric and the heartaches he brought his daughters Agnes and Clara the story opens on a tender note for Clara and Johnny Carson a young farmer who manages the boric Farm in his spare time are in love they hope to be married soon Johnny is her childhood sweetheart his regular job before he took over operation of the boric Farm was driving a milk truck for a large Dairy company nearby he still does this when he is able now however Peter Bor is bedridden most of the time and unable to work Johnny and Clara unaware of what the future holds for them face life happily secure in their love hardworking Mrs boric Peter's wife lives for her children alone a kind yielding woman she is designed to a life of drudgery and ever constant fear that Clara and Agnes and perhaps Johnny might fall victim to the disease that Peter boric carries it's time for lunch and Johnny has been invited to eat with the family Peter cannot leave his bed he will not go to a sanatorium he does not believe tuberculosis is catching he believes he can get well by staying in bed he wants to be near his neighbors so they can drop in and see him he likes Mrs boro's cooking he wants to be home so he can call his wife or his daughters at any time of the day or night the father's absence at meal time is evident but his influence both physical and spiritual is felt by the entire family every time they eat the door beyond the kitchen stove leads to his room from that room he can hear the familiar voices of his family at one time he was in a sanatorium he was not a Cooperative patient he felt there were too many restrictions that he did not feel sick he left against medical advice and since doctors cannot force patients to remain in a sanatorium he could not be stopped when he left the sanatorium he left behind proper medical care professional nursing attention and the rest routine which is so essential to the tuberculosis patient through his IGN an he left behind all hope and brought home a disease which was to bring immeasurable sorrow to his family Peter's presence in the boric household has not changed the homemaking routine although it should have to ensure protection for the family dishes used to serve his food are mixed with those used by the rest of the family his bed linen goes in with the family laundry the handkerchiefs he uses contains fum which is contaminated with tuberculosis ger germs the germs spread person to person and cause tuberculosis Peter refuses to believe this simple fact like measles chickenpox or scarlet fever tuberculosis is contagious except for Peter boric the boric family looks healthy they feel well they don't think they can catch Peter's disease they don't know a person may have tuberculosis for 3 years and never have any symptoms in recent weeks bic's increasingly bad condition has intensified his stubborn streak he talks to his family only in irritable commands his rockus coughing has increased the room behind the kitchen stove has become a self-imposed cell from which he bars time tried methods of tuberculosis cure his failing condition is reflected in his lack of appetite each day he leaves more and more food untouched on the plate which Mrs Borg serves him three times a day but tuberculosis workers know that Peter boric left the sanatorium against the advice of Physicians they have been watching his case ever since he acted against the advice of specialists in the field of tuberculosis cure and prevention now they hope to convince him to return to the sanatorium ever alert for cases such as these tuberculosis workers are certain that Peter boric will return in order to protect his wife and daughters courteous and professional the tuberculosis worker visits the boric household this job requires tax for she does not want to frighten Peter borck back into the sanatorium she must convince him and Mrs boric that he is spreading tuberculosis to his family and friends that he'll be able to receive visitors frequently in the sanatorium but Mrs Bor will have none of this she is too familiar with the wrath of her husband and with his ideas of sanatoriums Mrs Bor keeps the visit of the tuberculosis worker a secret both from peterborg and from her children that's why Johnny and Clara go ahead with plans to get married each New Day brings to them new happiness as they plan for the future they are ignorant of the cloak of disease that is enveloping the boric household and their lives for how long can the human body stand up under the strain of bombardment of the tuberculosis germ these two youths vigorous and gay appear to be happy and healthy as they await the day of their marriage but are they healthy the tuberculosis germ has used them for targets back in the boric household they had been exposed for months to the germs discharged by Peter boric is one or both to be a victim perhaps they had come in contact with tuberculosis by touching an article contaminated by Peter boric in the spring Johnny and Clara are married Peter boric is too ill to attend the church ceremony but unknown to all the mark of his willfulness is with them it is a threat to their happiness that could have been avoided if Peter had gone to the sanatorium some time before in fact if Peter had listened to sound medical advice or if his wife had acted upon the suggestion of the tuberculosis worker he might have been cured by the time the wedding took place as Johnny takes Clara for his wife and Promises to protect her in sickness and in health little does he realize that she had lived with open tuberculosis in the household whether or not she has escaped its attack remains to be seen their friends are equally ignorant of what is going on in the boric household they can see only the beautiful bride and The Dashing handsome groom two healthy vigorous young people who are now man and wife back at the boric household usually somber and quiet the BoRics and their guests gather for a wedding festivities everyone has visited and paid his respects to Peter boric in his sick room preparations are made to have the bride cut the wedding cake little does the happy couple suspect that this ceremony is the backdrop for the tragedy that is to follow but Johnny and Clara are unaware of the danger as they take over the operation of the boric Farm where they now live his life with Clara is a happy one one day more than a year after their marriage Johnny comes home from the fields to find that Clara is not feeling well he questions her and finds she is suffering from headaches becomes fatigued easily and is running a slight fever Clara then tells him she is going to have a baby and Johnny attributes the illness to the coming child But as time goes on Johnny wonders could it be that in some mysterious manner Peter's disease might be causing Clara's illness Clara's symptoms grow more evident daily she tires easily the Fresh Farm Foods cannot tempt her appetite Johnny has made a decision he is no longer satisfied with Peter's advice that Clara eat lots of food and stay out in the fresh air Johnny wants Clara to go to a confident doctor he fears for her her life and that of their child Clara has just had an x-ray of her lungs and a physical examination for tuberculosis at the sanatorium the X-ray film seen in the viewer reveals she has fallen victim to the disease the sanatorium doctor explains that everyone should have a chest x-ray each year he tells Mrs boric that tuberculosis is not inherited that it is not caused by weak lungs he points out that it's spread by germs from one person to another and it runs 15 times higher in families where there is a history of tuberculosis the doctor Ponders he wonders where Clara could have contacted tuberculosis he tells Mrs Borg that one does not have to look sick to be sick with tuberculosis the doctor also points out that the earlier tuberculosis is detected the easier the disease is to cure the body must build up a resistance to The Germ Clara has far Advanced tuberculosis if she'd only come to a doctor earlier if she'd only been checked periodically for tuberculosis how he asked Mrs boric could Clara have caught tuberculosis Mrs borck knows now sadly she recites the story of Peter For the First Time Peter her husband was in a sanatorium for treatment but Peter didn't like the sanatorium he didn't feel sick he didn't realize that he should be willing to remove remain hospitalized so that his family would be protected against the disease he didn't believe what the doctors told him one night Peter left the sanatorium Peter borck left the sanatorium against medical advice the full impact of Peter's willfulness his persistent rejection of the truth has come home Johnny wants Clara to go to the sanatorium he feels that both her life and the life of their child might be saved he knows if she'd gone earlier she would not have to stay so long in the sanatorium but Peter has taught his lesson well Clara too rejects sanatorium care she will take her chances of getting well at home her father had told her that once you enter the sanatorium you would surely die poor Clara she believes this wrong advice what better attention could she get in the sanatorium she asks herself and her husband but she has no way of telling if she is getting better or worse at the sanatorium she would be x-rayed regularly sputum test would be taken surgery would be recommended if necessary the progress of her disease would be noted regularly Johnny begs Clara again to go to the sanatorium Complicated by the fact that she is expecting a baby tuberculosis Works quickly in Clara she loses ground rapidly tuberculosis takes its toll and with Clara's death another life is taken the life of her unborn child Clara has paid with her life Johnny is not very expressive but he misses Clara terribly they had had so little time together none of their plans the plans of Youth had come to fruition he remembers her vivacity her Windom s her dark curls and her Tender Touch he realizes that all this is lost to him forever because of a disease which need not have happened if it had not been for one man's willfulness and in Remembering Clara and her youth he thinks of Agnes who has gone to work in a factory will the pattern of tragedy be repeated in Lively Agnes who has such a desire to live Johnny has talked to the tuberculosis worker she has urged Johnny to Prevail upon Agnes to have a chest x-ray she pointed out to Johnny that tuberculosis takes its greatest toll among young people from 15 to 35 years of age Johnny tells Agnes this he asks her to have an x-ray after all he reasons if you find out that you haven't caught tuberculosis from your father or Clara you'll have nothing to worry about if you do find out you have tuberculosis you can go to the sanatorium before your case becomes hopeless he tells her that many people have the tuberculosis germ in their bodies as long as the resistance is kept up the germ remains inactive he tells Agnes she has been working hard at her Factory job but the J may have gotten a foothold in her body he reasons with her but Agnes can't be reasoned with she has a streak of her father's willfulness in her it is fate she decides if my father is sick with tuberculosis and my sister died from it I will too it's just a matter of time and I might as well enjoy life secretly Agnes feels that she too might have the disease many thousands of tuberculous thck are among us everything they touch cough or spit on is infected with the tuberculosis germ they're a constant source of danger to the people who come in contact with them but they go blly on their way either unaware that they have the disease or unwilling to do anything about it Agnes is afraid she does not want to know the truth but the truth cannot be denied and shut out forever it must come out and Agnes despite her stubbornness cannot refuse to acknowledge that she is sick too sick to work efficiently many Industries have casef finding programs industry wants to protect its workers against tuberculosis an x-ray is painless and takes only a moment x-ray is used to fine tuberculosis among apparently healthy people as well as among persons who have had contact with a tuberculosis patient they find her disease in the factory X-ray and as is true in Industry when tuberculosis is found she is required to leave her work Agnes has tuberculosis no longer does Mrs boric need to be convinced tuberculosis killed one daughter and she is determined to save Agnes Mrs Bor will defy Peter at any cost knowing that his ignorance has caused this tragedy she's going to have a chest x-ray herself Johnny will have one too Agnes is finally reconciled to going to the sanatorium she sees that her father is not getting any better at home and that Clara came home only to die she realizes that if she gives up 6 months of time now to sanatorium treatment she may well save her life happily Agnes's disease has been caught early she will be able to recover from tuberculosis and lead a happy normal life she now realizes tuberculosis can be cured it is not a death sentence Mrs boric knows and Johnny knows that by going to the sanatorium early Agnes's chances for Recovery are enhanced Johnny and Mrs Bor returned to their house of Sorrow determined that there shall be no more needless suffering and death they been examined and they happily are not victims of Peter's disease it'll not be a simple matter to return Peter to a sanatorium but their minds are made up they know he is wrong in staying home he must go back to the tuberculosis hospital last year more than 50,000 American men women and children died in our country because they made the wrong decisions when they still could have been saved don't let the tragedy of the boric family repeat in your home remember no home is safe until all homes are safe [Music]