[Faline]

People who developed too much bone throughout their body were a sought-after attraction. Ossified men had completely rigid bodies and often had to be fed liquids through a tube and carried around.

[Faline]

Lucius Norval Monroe was born into slavery on January 29, 1847 on a plantation in Virginia. A normal child at first, he began to suffer a "strange disease" of the left leg when he was eight years old. Within two years his condition "took possession of his right foot" as well. The disease was probably what we now call fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva; to this day, there remains no cure for it. Fully grown, the ossified man weighed but sixty-seven pounds and it was said that his limbs "ring like metal when struck".
It's unclear exactly when Lucius entered showbusiness, but his condition surely would have made him useless as a laborer. By 1889, however, he'd already made a career for himself as a dime museum freak, competing directly with New York-born ossified man Jonathan Bass. Accompanying Lucius on exhibition were his faithful valet Mose, with whom he is shown in these photos, and his manager Charles Smith. Mose and Smith were charged with carrying the bedridden celebrity either in arms or on a litter. In 1891, while appearing at a museum in New York, Lucius was accidentally dropped by his companions and fell down two flights of stairs. He sustained fractures to his right femur and index finger, though because he couldn't walk anyway his doctors elected not to splint either of the breaks. During his six-week recovery, he was confined to a hospital and his competitor Bass pulled ahead of him in dime museum earnings.
http://www.phreeque.com/lucius_monroe.html

[Faline]

"Maurice [Pierce], the Ossified man is one of the freak attractions featured at the South Mountain Fair. Maurice was born in Lucas County, Iowa. At the age of ten he commenced to slowly turn into stone. Doctors and scientists are mystified as to the cause of his condition. He is under constant care of a nurse. He is said to be one of the few Ossified persons living. He was featured at the World's Fair in Chicago." (advertisement for the South Mountain Fair, Arendtsville, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg Times, September 15, 1936.)

Maurice's career was evidently long-lived. Born in 1893, he was shown by Ripley in the 30s and was with Gooding Greater Shows in 1950. His promoters offered a $1,000 reward if Maurice was not alive, and doctors and nurses were admitted free of charge.

[Cancun78]

Interesting..........I worked at a local institute for insane and MR/DD when i met a guy going into the pool ( for therapy ) who couldn't move anything. I was told the client was bed ridden and years and years ago (when these people weren't treated good at all) they never turned him, resulting in his "joints fused". That was back in 1997. I wonder sometimes.

[Rachee]

Originally Posted by Cancun78 ↗

Interesting..........I worked at a local institute for insane and MR/DD when i met a guy going into the pool ( for therapy ) who couldn't move anything. I was told the client was bed ridden and years and years ago (when these people weren't treated good at all) they never turned him, resulting in his "joints fused". That was back in 1997. I wonder sometimes.

You are exactly right. If clients with CP don't get turned and exercise they become very ridged like that

[D2D]

Hey baby.. Im so ossified for you right now.. Worth a shot

[carkees]

Absolutely *****post!

[DiamondSmiles]

The second guy makes my back hurt! It has to be painful and very frustrating!

[Rusty666]

bummer

[King Herald]

What a way to live: solid as a rock. The frustration, boredom, discomfort, must be appalling.