This was the first of several occasions in her life when Mary said she had been close to death or wished she were dead. This was not simply teenage melodrama. Mary really had been seriously ill. Not the least of the enigmas about her is her medical history. In many respects, her health was robust. She rode her ponies every day and was able to meet extreme physical demands. But her good health was punctuated by episodic illnesses, often triggered by anxiety or stress, sometimes lasting a few days, sometimes several weeks, in which acute physical pain and sickness were followed by rapid
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