Secrets & Scandals Of America’s First Ladies

No Talking, No Problem

First Lady Helen Herron had a stroke and the public had reason to believe things were wrong after that happened to her. Strokes aren’t something you can just back up from the second after in the first place because your brain experiences problems and can lead to more serious damage. Well, Herron had a more serious problem.

“The general public knew something was up with First Lady Nellie Taft when she canceled all her public appearances in the spring of 1909,” wrote Baty. “But they didn’t know she had recently suffered a stroke and couldn’t speak. With the help of her four sisters, she eventually learned how to talk again and continued her first lady duties.”