The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-12
A Bor,s sroMAcH BURNED OUT.
ReekIcssiy Drinking suIphuric Acid-A Re-
mnrknbe Recovery.

About year ngo, Robert Taylor n red
checked and chubby little boy, nine years old
the only son OF a passnic, N. j., mechanic, was
playing with several other children in a new
building. I'm a street near his home. In an out
OF the way place, one Of the boys found a black
bottle. containing liquid that all concluded
must be whlskey. Each dared the other to taste
the fluid. aud at length the boy who had dis
covered It raised the bottle to his lips. Ere he
had drank, however a drop fell from the mouth
of the vessel upon his Jacket and burned through
the cloth. lie lowered the bottle and passed II
to hls companions. Young Taylor then took
the bottle from his moro timid playmates and
hastily drank large quantity Of the fluid. IIo
instantly threw up hs hands and fell to the
ground insensibe. lie was borne to his home
and, though his stomach soon threw OF what he
had drank, he sank into profound coma. from
which IL was impossible to arouse him. The
bottle was found To- contain undilutcd sulphurc
acid. which the workmen had used for cleaning
the masonry. For days the little boy lay In torture
between life and death. Doctors examined him
aud said that he could never recover, as the acid
had burned out the entire lining of the stomach;
1Ie still fingered, growing feebler, and paler. and
more emaciated each day, for he could not re-
tain food In his stomach. He wasted slowly
away; his flesh was drawn over MS members as
tightly IA parchment, and he appeared To be
simply an animated skeleton. Dr. James X.
Taylor Of Bellevue Hospital was consulted,
and he cheered them with the hope that
the hoy might he cured. The boy weighed
scarcely twenty pounds. and he was easily car
ried back and forth ON n pillow. As he was
taken along the street people stopped to look at
him, doubtful as his ply sician said, whether he
was human being or skeleton.
pr. Taylor In beginning the treatment reasoned
that the acid on entering the stomach had in
stantly eaten through the coating wherever II
had reached, and that the consequent excessive
flow of the gastric Juice 10 the injured parts had
united with the poison and formed ablistcring
tiud that had scalded nearly every part Of the
stomach. lie hoped that a small portion about
the phylOric orince might have escaped. star
walton was the irst enemy that was to be over
come. The physician began his treatment with
injections of tcpid lime water, haSseed tea and
animal glue. In very small quantities.. The tenn
that OF the body. The experiment was success
ful. Then followed injections of milk I'm small
quantities, next mild preparation Of beef tea
a stronger tonic, the treatment being ncces-
sary entirely tonical. Under this, regl.
men M the boy began to show 'n'srns' rn s,sns
and never recurred, and after few
weeks Of njectional treatment, Dr, Taylor he,
gan to feed his patient with Hight soupa aud
easily masticated iellies, like calves foot Jelly
| Next followed corn starch and oatmeal, the mild
| Injections Of iron being continued in coniunc
| ton with the dieting A considerable hold had
nov been obtained ON the poisoned stomach
| anb the whole system showed marks 81 awaken
| lug life aud Vigur slowly and surely lie grew
better. the crimson came family upon his cheek
the hesh increased, his stomach grew stronger
| and at length he WAS able to cat almost any ligh
article Of food. Lately he has been given all
| and porter. and been able to digest them readily
taking whole gla : at dr'ught His weigh
| has Increased rapidly and oil Thursday last
| when he was taNen to the doctors house
| his friends said that he weighed forty-hv'
| pounds. lIo Is regarded as almost entirely re
| covered.
The theory Of the cure is that the strengthen
ing treatment that was employed enabled TIT
system to sustain tho undestroyed portions o
| the stomach while they were throwing on th
| dead matter and the wounds were healing. Tn
| healing was by n natural process OF cicatriLa
| tion, the dead matter sloughing of In the In
| fammatory processes. and the undestroyed part
| Of the stomach drawing together over tn
| wounds. The stomach IL now apparently almos
| as strong as that OF any well child.