“The Mayo Clinic stands before us as a symbol of good that never perishes.”
— Helen Keller
When Helen Keller learned tactile sign language from her teacher, Anne Sullivan, her world opened, and Helen Keller embraced all it had to offer. She became the first deaf-blind person to earn a college degree, wrote a dozen books, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and traveled to more than 35 countries as a public speaker, inspiring hope to generations.
During some of the busiest years of her career, from 1937 until her death in 1968, Helen Keller was a loyal patient of Mayo Clinic, making repeated visits to Rochester and even corresponding regularly with her caregivers and friends in the community.
During her frequent visits, Helen Keller experienced the Mayo Clinic philosophy of teamwork in service to patients. Claude Dixon, M.D., a Mayo surgeon, coordinated her care; they developed a friendship that lasted until both died in 1968.
In 1937, Helen Keller embarked on a four-month-long lecture trip to Japan and Manchuria, accompanied by Polly Thompson, her long-time companion and assistant. Upon their return to the U.S., they came to Mayo Clinic for physical exams to diagnose ongoing medical concerns. Newspapers soon reported that Helen “was in a ‘quite satisfactory’ condition at the Kahler Hotel today following an operation yesterday for removal of her gall bladder. Miss Polly Thompson … said that ‘her spirit is just beautiful,’ and that despite some pain, she makes no mention of it.”
As she recuperated at the Kahler, Helen continued her practice of writing letters and meeting people. Visitors included Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Mayo, Rochester Mayor W.A. Moore and Mrs. Claude Dixon. Helen Keller had only praise for the Mayo Clinic and its physicians. “Besides their skill, they bring into the sick room a spirit which is like fresh air and sunshine.”