{{Short description|American Lyme disease patient (1934–2019)}} {{Distinguish|Pauli Murray}}
'''Mary Luckett "Polly" Murray''' (1934–2019) was a key figure in the recognition of Lyme disease. She was one of the first individuals to document the symptoms of the disease. In 1975, she reported the illness in her family and her community to the Connecticut State Department of Health. Scientists from Yale University who met with Murray are credited with identifying the disease now known as Lyme disease.
Polly Murray was born in New York City. She was raised in Irvington, NY. Murray attended The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry and received a BA from Mount Holyoke College. During a fellowship at the Yale School of Art she studied with the American painter Robert Brackman and the Art Students League of New York.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mary Luckett "Polly" Murray Obituary (2019) New Haven Register |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nhregister/name/mary-murray-obituary?id=7829107 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
Murray moved to Lyme, Connecticut in the late 1950s, living in a forested area near the banks of the Connecticut River.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Ofgang |first1=Erik |last2=eofgang@connecticutmag.com |date=2020-06-23 |title=Lyme disease emerged in Connecticut in the 1970s ... then the conspiracy theories started |url=https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticutmagazine/news-people/article/Lyme-disease-emerged-in-Connecticut-in-the-1970s-17045373.php |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=CT Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1998-06-07 |title=Before It Had a Name, Affliction Was Familiar Part of Artist's Life |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-07-mn-57505-story.html |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Soon after, she began experiencing rashes, migraines, fever and aching joints.<ref name=":1" /> Murray's symptoms worsened during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was unable to paint as a result. She was hospitalized three times in 1971 alone.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Edlow |first=Jonathan A. |date=2003-07-27 |title='Bull's-Eye' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/27/books/chapters/bullseye.html |access-date=2022-09-14 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Doctors were unable to determine the cause of her illness.
Murray's husband and four children all experienced similar symptoms. By the summer of 1975, two of her sons were using crutches due to swollen knees and her son Todd was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Rheuminations: How Tiny Ticks Have Fueled Outrage and Acrimony in Some Communities - Page 4 of 5 |url=https://www.the-rheumatologist.org/article/rheuminations-how-tiny-ticks-have-fueled-outrage-and-acrimony-in-some-communities/ |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=The Rheumatologist |language=en-US}}</ref> Murray also became aware of others in her community experiencing symptoms similar to her family's. The symptoms usually began with a red rash, typically followed by fever and joint pain. Murray began compiling a list of those affected.<ref name=":2" /> On Thursday October 16, 1975, Murray called the Connecticut State Health Department to report the unusual cluster of disease.<ref name=":2" /> The call prompted a meeting between Murray and Alen Steere, a fellow in rheumatology at the Yale School of Medicine.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=France |first=David |date=1999-05-04 |title=Scientist at Work: Allen C. Steere – Lyme Expert Developed Big Picture Of Tiny Tick |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/04/health/scientist-at-work-allen-c-steere-lyme-expert-developed-big-picture-of-tiny-tick.html |access-date=2022-09-14 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By 1977, Lyme arthritis, now known as Lyme disease, was identified as a new, distinct illness by Steere and his mentor Stephen Malawista. Scientists eventually discovered that deer ticks were responsible for the spread of the disease.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Murray worked to raise awareness about Lyme disease.<ref name=":0" /> She was involved in fundraising, patient and physician education, and served on Lyme disease support groups and foundations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aronowitz |first=Robert A. |date=June 2012 |title=The Rise and Fall of the Lyme Disease Vaccines: A Cautionary Tale for Risk Interventions in American Medicine and Public Health: Lyme Disease Vaccines: A Cautionary Tale |journal=Milbank Quarterly |language=en |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=250–277 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0009.2012.00663.x |pmc=3460208 |pmid=22709388}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> She published a book to tell her story in 1996, The Widening Circle: A Lyme Disease Pioneer Tells Her Story (St. Martins' Press). Murray received an Alumnae Honorary Degree from Mount Holyoke college in 1996. She also lectured at Case Western Reserve University and Columbia University.<ref name=":0" />
== External links ==
* [https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/10/resources/12837 Polly Luckett Murray papers], Medical Historical Library, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, Yale University.
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Polly}} Category:1934 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Lyme disease researchers Category:American health activists Category:American women activists