Armchair physicians across the web are trying to solve one of literature’s greatest mysteries: what the heck was wrong with Tiny Tim? All we know is that Dickens’ wretch was a small, sick, crutch-wielder, who was prone to weakness and doomed unless ol’ Ebeneezer loosened his purse strings. It’s not much to go on, but LiveScience has found some credible theories.
The two leading diagnoses are kidney disease, specifically renal tubular acidosis (RTA), and Rickets. RTA can retard growth, deform limbs, and bring on weakness, and 19th century medicine would know how to treat it—assuming Scrooge was paying. Rickets, or Vitamin D deficiency, would be common in smog-covered London, and could be cured by a produce-rich, Scrooge-funded diet.