314 A HISTORY OF NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION 



long, eventful life. He cared for his brother until the latter's 

 death, hardly ever leaving his bedside. Precautions to avoid in- 

 fection were then unknown, and open windows and fresh air were 

 considered contraindications. 



There is no doubt that Edward contracted tuberculosis from 

 his brother, yet one cannot help feeling that a Divine Providence 

 ordained it to be thus, for his brother's illness led young Trudeau 

 to choose medicine as a career, and his own illness made him a 

 pioneer in the life-saving open-air treatment. A brilliant student 

 of tuberculotherapeutics, a beloved physician, a savior of count- 

 less lives, and last, but not least, the teacher of a great many men 

 who are now carrying on the work in all parts of the United 

 States. 



After graduating from the College of Physicians and Surgeons 

 in 1871, Trudeau started in general practice, becoming an asso- 

 ciate of Dr. Fessenden Otis. He worked hard to gain a foothold 

 in practice, but the disease he had contracted from his brother 

 became seriously active and he was obliged to give up. He con- 

 sulted Professors Loomis and Janeway, who advised a climatic 

 change. He went South, but returned to New York with very 

 little, if any, improvement. 



Recalling the delightful times he had had during vacations 

 when hunting and fishing in the Adirondacks, and having always 

 been an ardent lover of nature, he decided to spend his last days 

 in the midst of what was to him the most congenial of environ- 

 ments. He had given up all thought of practising medicine. The 

 Adirondack climate and the outdoor life, coupled with his good, 

 sound judgment, which led him not to overdo, with plenty of com- 

 plete rest whenever possible, restored the young physician to 

 almost perfect health within a few years, to the surprise of him- 

 self as well as his friends. The cold season, which was feared by 

 all other invalids who came to the Adirondack Mountains, did 

 even more for him than the summer, and to the astonishment of 

 the inhabitants of Paul Smith's, where the doctor had made his 

 home, he remained with them through the most rigorous winters. 

 Trudeau proved that tuberculosis is curable in pure air inde- 

 pendent of the seasons of the year, by means of a careful, regu- 

 lated outdoor life. 



