Leila Jane Eastland, 1953-2012

Born in Dallas on February 7, 1953, my sister Janie was a healthy baby, smart and fun to be around, the last of the three children in our family. She was Exhibit A in support of Carl Sandburg’s famous aphorism that a baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.

Photo of Terry Eastland with his sister Janie as children

Terry and Janie, 1961

COURTESY of Terry Eastland

And then, almost 17 months later, on the Fourth of July in 1954, Janie awakened with a throat infection and high fever, and soon developed convulsions. The doctors who saw her thought she had red measles. Soon it became apparent that the measles had reached her brain. She was diagnosed with measles-encephalitis. Later tests revealed brain damage.

So it was that learning became difficult for Janie. Eventually she did learn to spell and read. But she was unable to read beyond the lower grade levels, or to explain much of what she read. She also learned to memorize some. But seldom did she talk about the past—conceptual thinking stumped her. As for arithmetic, when Janie tried to add even very small numbers, her answers were often wrong.

Over the years our parents looked for doctors and educators who might be able to help Janie. In 1963 they heard about the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential and decided to start her on a program designed by IAHP that included creeping (with the abdomen touching the floor), crawling (on all fours), and other exercises, chief among them “patterning,” which involved the rhythmic manipulation of the limbs and head by several helpers. The theory was that the program, practiced daily, would revive damaged neurological pathways.