The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-05-04
Fifty-eight Days Without FOOd---A
Case that Has No Parallel.

OswEGO, n. Y, April 22.-Near the
village of Mexico, in this county, live:
the Widow Stansberry, who for ter
wears has been bedridden of neryou:
disease. Her daughter Martha, aged
nineteen years, lived with her and took
care of her. In October last Martha
was taken i'll with Reuralgic affection Oi
the face and head, and, supposing that
it proceeded from diseased teeth, she
went to the village and had them eX-
tracted. Soon after she returned home
she was taken with eXcrutiating pain:
in her left side, Just below the ribs,
which were so severe as to throw her
into cOnvulsiOns, of which she had az
many as 100 in twenty-four hours, on
some days. From her side the pain
went to her chest, and thence to her
throat, and then she had difficulty in
swallowing.
From the 2Oth to the 9th day of Feb
ruary she took about one tablespoon of
cream each day, and no other nOurish-
ment. With each administration of
this diet the patient went into convul-
sions. On Sunday, February p, the
last successful attempt was made to in
trOduce food into her stomach. On
that day the convulsions were so viO-
lent that death seemed to be imminent.
The sight or smell of food produced
SpasmS, and it became necessary to
avoid presenting food to her for time.
At this stage she seemed to lose the
senses of sight and hearing, and also
the power of speech, and she remained
for three or four days in state of
partial coma, after which she
revived sufficiently to write her desires
on a slate. For the three weeks sue
ceeding the 9th of February she wrote
constantly on her slate about her suf-
fering for food, but when food was Of
fered her the commissions returned. In
these three weeks she slept but very lit
tie, and was in a state of high nervous
excitement, sometimes ordering her at
tendants from the room, as she could
not bear their presence. At the end of
the three weeks she became very quiet
and slept regularly and well. For three
or four days at time she was appar-
emily blind, deaf and speechless, and
then she revived for short time.
At the end of this period (the three
weeks) her physicians, Drs. HeatOn and
Huntington of Mexico, began to treat
her with hyperdermic injections, intro
ducing medica.ions into the arms, and
bathing the chest, stomach, and abb
dOmen with milk and beef broth. After
this bread and cake were placed in her
hands; she sometimes attempted to put
the food to her mouth, but all attempts
to eat were useless. At that time she
was able to talk, and said she would not
be able to eat again. When asked why,
she said she didn't know, only she nev-
er could. From the beginning of her
sickness till her death, on Tuesday last,
April IS, the attendants were obliged
to fan her continually: when thefanning
stopped she seemed to cease to breathe.
Before her death she was conscious,
but had been unable to speak since the
previous evening. She had then lain
fifty-eight days without taking q parti-
Gle of nOuriShment into her stomach,
not even drop of water, her only
means of sustepance being the absOrp-
ton of the milk and beef tea, the bath
ing in which was continued to the day
she died. Drs. HeatOn and Huntingdon
made careful post-mOrtem examina-
ton of the body. No disease of any
kind was revealed.
Miss Stansberry had previously ly been
a healthy girl. She weighed about 100
pounds when taken sick, and after death
weighed not less than 130. The ply
sicians think that death resulted from
extreme nervous prostratiOn rather than
starvation. DrS. HeatOn and Hunting
ton and other trustworthy physicians,
say the medical records show no case
of the kind.