Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-04-12
ABOUT LOsT LEGS.
TFrom the GalaIr.l

HN.AANlbhs 4 4uAL LelE IKE AZ elecLTll
shOek. But as soon as the ,arterial
|, blood began to spout out in jets, there
, was intense pain, almost insuppOrta,
, OLE which never ceased for many
weeks. Frequent faintness, with
everything becoming indistinct, as
frequently followed by sudden reviv.
sl, prevailed until safely lodged in q
hospital, hours after. The doses OF
brandy administered by the surgeon
were tasteless, but brought new life
and consciousness at q fash. Moral
ly, there was an intense desire to have
the enemy beaten and driven off, and
an unappeasable curiosity to know
every few minutes. which seemed
hours, how the battle was going
! Such cases are numerous and very
like. After lying in agony for long
days and longer nights, comes a con-
sultatiOn Of surgeons; but you know
before il Is pronounced what the yer
dict b TO be, and when the doctor
with solemn face approaches, you say
impatlently, "Out with it; it has got
to 90 OF course"
The weeks that follow are tedious
epoch. The kind anasthetie has
deadened the shock OF the operation,
and blessed opium often gives sleep
and oblivion during the night. But
this Il the trying period when arteries
bresk loose and lie may run out in
ten minutes, 1t IS especially trying
when you know enough Of surgery to
realize the danger. You feel q de-
crease OF pain, A delicious languor
I steals over the senses, and when the
watcher suddenly starts up and sum-
l mons aid, you fear the last moment
] has come. In short when the sur.
geon SAYS quietly, ave must give Won
ether again. p and Immediately pro
doees the sponge, You giFeup life and
say GOOD bye,1 faintly. You yield
unwiliingly 70 the insidiOus yapor,
never expecting to see this. world
more, and wishing 10 die with a clear
head. You learn thoroughly what
| philosophers preach and few believe
is true. Death, very nesr has no ter
/ rOrs. E-
In from three to six months all
well-treated cases not otherwise COM
I plicated, are able to visit the makers
of artificial limbs and be fitted 10 q
/ leg. There Is one claim they nearly
/ all make, fully allowed by a athOught-
I less public, that we must protest
/ against. It is to the title Of phiian-
thropists and disinterested benefac-
/ tors Of mankind. Nothing Is palmer
than that these cOntrivanees have
done wonders for cripples, but they
have also most certainly put money
into the pockets OF the originatOrs. -.
Artificial appliances of all kinds are
very costly, and far the greater portion
of that cost goes tOpay royalty on pat
ents. As far as price or labor and ma.
/ terial goes, there Is no reason why a
/ first-elass leg for amputation below
the knee should not be sold for thirty
or forty dollars; yet the manufacturer
charges as much as one hundred and
fifty, and even government pays sew
enty-five dollars for an inferior arti-
Gle. Until they sell their wares at
such profit as grasping tradesmen
and mereenary manufacturers are
content with, these pretenders to un-
selishUess will deserve hebuke.
In contrast with this is the practice
OF the honorable medical faculty.
Whenever one Of its members makes
q discovery that will be of use 10 his
fellow man in the line Of his profess
3
without reserve. Instead OF reepinR
a golden harvest, be is often put to
great expense to bring bis invention
to notice Even this magnanlmity is
not half the measure Of benefits con-
ferned by this nOble-minded body.
Accustomed 10 the early years of
practice to devote time and labor and
TO incur manifold danger without ad-
equate reward, its members became
habituslly generous. To all wounded
in the war their services were always
given without claim to pay, and in
thousands OF cases persistsntly made
gratuitous. When we reflect that
merchants seldom, and corporations
never, fail to exact the full value Of
services rendered in the way of their
business when We fully realize that
q physicians or surgeons time, given
away, means 50 much food, and rent,
and future comfort taken from his
family, we shall begin to appreciate !
the self-sacrifiee of this truly Chris I
tian profession. All mankind owes
il praise and gratitude. Let our vol /
ces swell the chorus. Suppose the 1
diseoverer Of ether had taken out I
patent and We had 10 pay royalty for
vaccination!
l have compared notes with men /.
whose amputation dated back as far
as thirty years, and all agreed in their /.
experience Of the continued sensitive /
ness o! the exeised part. AS sit |
here writing l repeat an old expert 1
ment with all due search and atten- !
ton. Carefully examining the sensa-
tons aroused in my brain by the re- /
fiex action Of the nerves, note the |
following facts; So long as I remain I
in passive state, merely observant, 1
avoiding any exercise Of my will upon !
the muscles, am utterly ignorant OF /
the loss of my foot, except so far as I
sight and touch assure me Of it. Even
with these aids, find it impossible to !
impress upon my inner consciousness
a belief that my body ends Just below /
the knee Not only is there no sense A
Of loss, but at the very place where
my eyes and hands tell me that bone
and flesh end and empty air begins,
my brain tells me necessarily, posi-
lively, Obstinstely, that there is no
break Of continuity. That this should /
happen when the amputation first
takes place does not seem very sur
prising, and might be explained by
the force Of habit Let patient who
has met with serious accident, aud
taken ether. find on waking a cover
ing extending downward from his
neck and so far elevated as to give no
guide TO the shape beneath. So long
as he lies in a purely receptive, mac
tive state, he cannot be sure that any
amputatiOn at all has taken place,
nor, If assured that one has been per-
formed can he'say how much or how
little has been included. As far as
any break in his nervous system
serves as a clue, his body may be cut
off at the neck, or his toe alone be
slightly injured. A great ache in one
limb may give him a general idea Of
the seat Of the operation; but he Is
not, and, I believe, after comparing
notes with many fellow sufferers,
never viii be able to designate the
point Of separation until he has seen
and touched It. This delusion, or
rather contradiction Of testimony
given by different senses, Is not tenn
pOrary; II continues indefinitely. A
case is on record Of a tender mother
who for 8 long time objected to the
Of her sons leg, fearing
that the knowledge Of his loss would
grieve him TO death. When the
reason Of her unwillingness became
known, the attending surgeon assured
her that the boy need not learn the
event until strong enough TO bear the
shock. And the innocent deception
Ill - 0