Hovels, Haciendas, and House Calls: The Life of Carl H. Gellenthien, M.D.

Carl H. Gellenthien was a senior medical student at the University of Illinois when he discovered that he had an advanced case of tuberculosis. At that time, the 1920s, the only known treatment was rest and fresh air. The climate of the American Southwest was thought to be one of the best because of the dry air and sunshine. Young Carl, although given only two years to live, went to Valmora, New Mexico where a tuberculosis sanatorium had been established in 1904 by Dr. William T. Brown. He was not only cured but went back to school and completed his medical studies. He then returned to Valmora, married Brown's daughter and later became the medical director of Valmora Sanatorium.