The Painful Life Of Vertus Wellborn Hardiman

Vertus Wellborn Hardiman was born on March 9, 1922. When he was five years old, he was used in a human radiation experiment by the United States government. The experiment gave him a painful skull deformity that made him cover his head for the rest of his life.

The Beginning

He was born in the Indiana town of Lyles Station. Lyles Station was founded in 1927. It is known as one of the first Black communities in the U.S., and the Hardiman family was one of the first to move there. In 1928, he went to Lyles Consolidated School. During a medical experiment at the county hospital, he and nine other children were severely irradiated.

To get parents to agree to the experiment, it was said that it was a new way to treat ringworm on the scalp. Radiation to the skull caused symptoms right away and a severe bone disease that got worse over the course of his life.

His mom sent him and his older brother to get what they thought was ringworm treatment. When it was Vertus's turn, the nurse shouted, "Oh my God, I've given him too much!" Those were chilling words that he would never forget.

All of the children who were given radiation complained of the same things: they all had headaches, felt dizzy, and said their heads burned very badly. In the end, all of the kids lost their hair.

The parents of the children met with a local lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the hospital. The lawsuit focused on how the parents had been misled and tricked, but the hospital was found not to be guilty. Many people were hurt long-term, but Hardiman's were the worst.

Vertus suffered not only from the physical effects of the radiation, but also from the emotional trauma. Because of the disfigurement caused by the radiation, Vertus had a lot of nightmares and felt ashamed of himself.

Pain in Adulthood

For more than 70 years, Vertus Hardiman wore a wig. His hairpiece hid a painful secret: a raw, open wound on his head that was eating away through his scalp and skull. As a child, Hardiman was hurt by bad medical care that will affect him for the rest of his life, both physically and mentally.

Vertus' wound turned out to be cancerous, which killed him at the age of 85. Only in his last years did he start to talk about the horrible things that happened to him and the terrible pain he felt every day.

He told Wilbert Smith, a close friend, his story. He said to Smith,

"I've been going through a lot of pain for a long time because I couldn't find the courage to tell you my secret. It has to do with why I always hid my head and wore a hat. I've never told anyone my secret before, but I think now is the time."

Together, they wrote a book and made a documentary film about Vertus's life.

Smith has a Master of Arts in Special Education and a Ph.D. in Business Management. He has also been on the Board of Governors for California's Community Colleges. He used to teach in the business school at Pasadena Community College. Now, he owns and runs an insurance agency in Altedena, California.

But it was his friendship with Vertus Hardiman and his desire to tell the world about his amazing story that changed not only his life but also the lives of a lot of other people.

Smith wrote the book; Hole in the Head: A Life Revealed

Hardiman Persisted

Even though he was hurt badly and had to go through a lot of pain, Hardiman worked hard, was smart in business, and lived frugally. He invested his savings in real estate and made a lot of money.

He owned 28 properties, and when he died on June 1, 2007, at the age of 85, he left $8 million to his church and a scholarship fund for his favorite school. He insisted that education is the key to making heaven on earth.