Congenital Pernicious Anemia
Ten Boom suffered with a special case of pernicious anemia that started in her early childhood, called congenital (or juvenile) pernicious anemia. This case is believed to be caused by a malfunction of the gastric juices of intrinsic factor during the nine weeks before birth. Her illness prevented her from bearing children, so she chose, at a young age, not to marry.
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