n 1960, at the age of 12, Dully became the youngest patient to be operated upon by Dr. Walter Freeman, the pioneer of the ice pick lobotomy. Intended to cure a perceived mental instability, the transorbital lobotomy instead was the first step in Dully’s descent into institutionalization and addiction. Part medical history, part memoir, this is a frightening tale of a discredited technique and the far-reaching harm it caused. “My Lobotomy” by Howard Dully. Howard Dully was one of the nations first children, at age 12, to undergo a transorbital lobotomy which basically meant, he had a glorified ice pick jammed behind his eye sockets and wiggled around by a quack who considered himself a pioneer of mental illness cures. Dr. Walter J. Freeman was quite an eccentric, and if he haden’t personally scrambled the brain of several thousand individuals, including JFK’s sister, who became incapacitated after that and insitutionalized till her death, he might be someone interesting to have over one afternoon for tea and scones. Howard was born into a loving family with a mother who doted on him. but shortly after giving birth to Howards second brother, she died, leaving Howard without a mother figure.
His father soon remarried to Howards stepmother who never really warmed up to Howard and imagined Howard to be a schizophrenic child monster. It was this women who had Howard commited to several asylums, hospitals, foster homes, boarding schools and ultimately lobotomized. Dr. Freeman was known to stop midway between his surgeries to take photos. many of his patients have died during his “photo shoots”. Howard holds the “ice pick” that went thru his head. he was finally able to get ahold of his medical files some 40 years after his lobotomy, and discover why he even had it in the first place. (you must read the book to find out.)
Interestingly enough, an MRI showed that if he had had this operation 5 years later than he did, he would be a vegetable. but our bodies/brains are amazing healing machines. since he was so young when he had the procedure done, his brain was able to heal itself and compensate for the parts that were destroyed. Howard was able to retain all of his personality. Howard is a big man! 6’7 and 330 pounds. his brother is 6″10!! anyway, what makes this book so notable is not the actually lobotomy, but Howard. Cause you read the book and you see exactly what Howard was thinking as a child.
He wasn’t bad, but he got into trouble, and i know many of us can relate to that. in a way, i think many of us know what it is like to be a child that is the odd one out. He explains his perception of why he acted out and his need to be accepted by his stepmother. Decades after his lobotomy, he was still trying to reach out to her and make her love him. eventually, his father divorced her and she was no longer in his life. Howard has also managed to have closure with his lobotomy after decades of insecurities, drug use, alcohol use, failed relationships, and failed careers, once he wrote this book and did an exclusive interview for NPR.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307381277?ie=UTF8&tag=flavorpill0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307381277
