Dr. A. William Frankland is 106 Years Old and There’s Nothing Stopping Him

In his remarkable journey, Dr. A. William Frankland has experienced various shades of life; some memories sweet and some bitter. Dr. Frankland, however, prefers to forget the pain and fearful moments he experienced in his lifetime and instead focuses on his happiness and his valuable contribution to medicine.

This is how Dr. Frankland began his long journey. He was born in 1912 as a twin. He then went on to pursue studies in medicine in the 1930s. During the World War II, he traveled to Singapore and held a military post which ultimately resulted in him being held as POW for three years. He was imprisoned in a place called ‘Hell Island’. It was during this period that Dr. Frankland suffered the most in the hands of his notorious Japanese captors.

He was ill-treated, brutally bashed and knocked unconscious. There were times when the Frankland’s commanding officer thought that he lost him, however, Frankland would get up, staggering, looking as if to punch his captors. It was only through sheer luck that the centenarian was able to escape the jaws of death in February 1942. After escaping alive, he never wanted to look back at those fearful moments of being a captive. He instead put all his energies into his career.

Research on pollens

Dr. Frankland became well known for his thorough research on pollens and its association with allergies called the pollen count in 1953, London. He became an allergist and worked under the famous Alexander Fleming; the man who discovered penicillin. He studied the levels of pollen on any given day and times of the year and when the pollen is at the highest. He also supported the idea of desensitization which aims to reduce the level of immune response to allergens by repeated low doses of the substance to which the patient is allergic to. His thorough research on the subject today helps doctors and patients worldwide to understand what triggers allergies.

During his research, Dr. Frankland indulged in dangerous self-experimentation and allowed himself to get bitten by the blood-sucking insect called Rhodnius prolixus which caused a severe anaphylactic reaction. "I caused acute severe anaphylaxis in myself from an insect," he explained. "Nowadays, you wouldn't be allowed to do such an experiment. But to me, I was determined to find out [how] I reacted to mosquitoes, fleas or whatever insect bites me." He also completed his research in Hayfever and linked Hayfever symptoms to pollens.

Secrets to living a long life

In a biography, Author Paul Watkins described the doctor in these powerful lines, “[This] has been quite a unique experience, and one that I think very few people will have the privilege to do, even more so, with Dr. Frankland, of this remarkable long life, in which he's seen so many changes, so many challenges, and has been through so many really quite remarkable experiences, which most of us can't even comprehend." The Dr. even treated Saddam Hussein.

What’s astonishing is Dr. Frankland’s sharpness of mind and his sharp memory. He’s able to recollect his third birthday where he ate too much of cake and ended up falling sick. He explains that with aging there’s a fear of decline in mental abilities; however keeping the mind active and engaged will help generate new brain cells and neural connections till late in life, thereby delaying mental decline.

To this day, Frankland occasionally consults with patients and contributes articles to various publications. He’s writing a piece on how penicillin was created during his work with Alexander Fleming. The Allergy Clinic at St. Mary's Hospital in London was named after him.

Sitting in his armchair, Dr. Frankland adds “When you get old, [there are] some of the things you can't do, I’m too old to go on runs and keep fit in that sort of way. But I certainly keep my brain going all the time. And I read a lot of scientific journals and things which come to me monthly, and some -- even the British Medical Journal -- once a week. I think what helps me is that if you lead a sensible life, and don't smoke and don't overeat, and do a bit of exercise. Be energetic in whatever it is socially and psychologically and emotionally [that] you're doing. Take these things all in your stride."