An m.D. Refuses to Answer

The September 1986 issue of Charisma magazine contained a lengthy article written by James Hayes, M.D., of St. Augustine, Florida. The doctor described a remarkable recovery he’d made which he said had puzzled other physicians and for which X-rays were available. He ascribed the healing to his Christian faith, and not to medical treatment. Learning of this evidence, I thought that I might at last have someone who would be willing to provide the needed data. He is himself a physician and could easily supply the information without having to go through the process of obtaining permission from others. I wrote to him on December 24, 1986:I just read your remarkable article in Charisma magazine (September 1986) and I’ve a number of questions that I’d like to ask you concerning that article. I should like to know if you would answer a few questions on the matter of your divine healing(s). Please let me know by using the stamped, self-addressed envelope I have provided. Thank you for your attention to this request! Sincerely,   James Randi

Having received no reply by January 3, 1987, I telephoned Dr. Hayes. During our conversation he told me details of an 85-year-old man’s “terminal cancer” that was “completely cured,” but he refused to give me the names of the doctors involved. He said they were not believers and might not provide truthful accounts of the case. However, he said that he would provide me with that information after he had spoken to them. That was more than eight months ago. I never received any further information about this healing, only one of “hundreds of documented miracles” Dr. Hayes told me he was aware of. He seemed amused at my interest in his claims, and most of our telephone conversation concerned his questions about my “attitude,” my “motives,” and my personal beliefs. I pointed out that those factors could have nothing to do with the validity of his claims, and that for starters I only wished to know, as my letter had stated, if he would answer some questions. He told me that he wasn’t sure whether he was willing to do so, and asked me whether I was “willing to be born again.” I told him that I could not enter into such matters and that I would send him the questions by mail. I reproduce here the form I sent him, again with a stamped, self-addressed envelope: In response to the inquiry from James Randi: (Answers, yes or no, may be simply circled.)   Re #1: Do you have radiographic information showing that: (a) your pelvis was “twisted,” (b) your one leg was thus shortened, (c) your pelvis is now no longer twisted? a. : Yes Nob. : Yes Noc. : Yes NoRe #2: May I have: (a) the name of the osteopath mentioned, (b) your permission to know of your medical record from this person in this regard? a. : Yes Nob. : Yes NoRe #3: Is the statement attributed to you, that the osteopath “couldn’t explain [your] ‘remarkable improvement,’ ”a correct quotation? (Because the article was actually written by Angela Kiesling, I must allow for the possibility that the quotation was incorrect.) Yes No Re #4: You told me today that the form of infertility that was involved consisted of a low sperm count. I would like to know if: (a) a medical opinion about this is on record, (b) whether, in your own or another’s professional opinion, a pregnancy might still have resulted with this condition existing? a. : Yes Nob. : Yes NoRe #5: You mentioned in our telephone conversation that you had X-ray evidence of a “fusion of the lower spine” in your case. Is that fusion still evident in radiographic scans? Yes No

I waited for months, and no answer came. Finally, in July 1987, seven months after I made the first inquiry, I sent a final letter to Hayes. I repeated everything I’d said previously and sent him copies of all my previous letters. The last paragraph of this letter said:I do not wish to report to my readers that an M.D. has refused to answer simple inquiries concerning quite straightforward claims made in a widely circulated magazine. Such a refusal would, fairly or not, imply that these claims cannot stand examination. I am sure that, if your claims as stated in Charisma are true, neither of us would want that implication to be made by my readers.

No response of any sort was ever received.