The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1875-07-29
a TERRIBLE WOUND.
Statement of Col. ID. r. Anthony's Condi-
ton Since He Was Shot.

Statement of Col. d. r. Anthony's Condi-
ton Since He Was Shot.
It will be nine weeks tomorrow night
since Col. Anthony vas shot with a PTS
toll in close contact the ball weighing
one-quarter of an ounce. It passed di-
rectly through the right clavicle COLLAR
bone) near its center, fracturing it across
and splintering it badly, though not ma
terially displacing the fragments. He
bled profusely, say full half gallon.
The surgeons declared it to be arterial
blood. The entrance of the ball was di-
rectly over the route of the subclavian
artery. No pulsation existed in the con-
tinuation of that artery beyond the site
of the wound until July 4-eight weeks
from the time of the hurt. From that
date the pulse in the wrist has increased
pereeptibly from day to day, until the
collateral circulation is very nearly es-
tablished Within minute after the
wound was received, he completely
tainted, and for some time he was
thought to be dead. He slowly revived,
however, and by o'clock in the morn
ing (tIle shot was at 10 p. m. reaction
had so far taken place that it was
thought safe to remove him from the
opera-house, where he had lain all night,
to his residence. From the moment OF
his fainting he has never lost drop OF
blood. During that time, while the
heart stood still, a blood clot was formed
in the mouth of the severed artery,
which remained there thirty-six hours,
until Wednesday morning, the 18th,
when it gave way, and the blood rushed
through int the surrounding parts. The
bursting of that clot was the critical
moment at which the surgeons feared,
nay expected, secondary hemorrhage.
But, instead, the delicate tissues proved
strong enough to stay the surging blood
ti9e and form themselves into an aneur-
ism-a little bag or sack-which has
lasted to this time. The blood rushing
into that sack at every heartbeat, is not
only perceptible to the touch, but it's
whirring sound is distinctly heard by the
colonel and all who place their ear close
to it.
The fractured bone is now thoroughly
united. Only three small fragments
were removed. The wound is entirely
healed, without any suppuration. His
general physical condition is, and has
been from the first, excellent. His pow
ers CT cheerful endurance are surprising
to ALL
He sleeps well, and ate well, so long
as his physicions allowed him to do so,
but for the last four weeks he has been
kept on rigidly low diet. This is to re-
duce the impulse of the heart, and there
by lessen the momentum of the blood
into the aneurismal sac. The history
of subclavian aneurisms gives too little
promise of health or strength, or length
of days, to allow of his taking the
chances of life with it. The chief meth
DDS of curing aneurisms are hgature and
compression OF the artery above the
wound. Legation of this artery being
attended with great mortality, compress
sion is to be tried faithfully, first. Dur
ing the past week constant but partial
compression has been in operation. 1t
is done by placing the ball of the finger
on the artery, above the collar bone,
and pressing it down against the upper
rib, so hard as nearly to cut off the flow
of blood through it into the sac. By
this process the sac has rapidly lessened,
until 1t seems no more than a large sized
almond.
It is now hoped that another weeks
compression will entirely close the sac
and form a clot in the mouth of the
artery. Then, for the clot to become a
solid and permanent constituent there,
it will require still another twenty or
thirty days of absolute quiet. But slow
and tedious and exhausting as is the pro-
cess, the colonel is bound to perseyere
and persist in it until complete success
is attained, or all hope of it gone. Ii
compression should fail to accomplish a
complete cure, then the question of hg-
ating the artery will be duly considered
and acted upon. -LeaUeaaaOorth Times.