Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-01-02
MaoEyoy's Severed Brain,

John MacEvoy, the Paterson lad,
whose brain was sawed nearly in half
on Monday of last week, died at the st.
Joseph's Hospital, in that city, on Sum
day, at about two q. M, having sur
vived his injury five days and ten hours
The extraordinary nature of the injury
and the fact of so long a survival of it
attracted no little attention from the
medical fraternity, and from four of
the physicians of Paterson who we're
familiar with the case the Herald re-
porter on Monday learned its history as
far as 1t is known. MacEvoy was a
boy about fifteen years old, rather tall
for his age, active, but slender, and
looking a child overgrown. He had
obtained employment on Monday at a
place where he had worked year be-
fore, and was sent into mill with an
other boy to gather sawdust. He was
doing this under n circular saw which
had been stopped for the workman to
tighten the belt. Having done so the
other started the saw suddenly, not
knowing that the boys were under the
liable. The saw revOlves, it is said, at
speed of $500 revolutions minute.
1t is twelve inches in diameter, and
some nine inches of this are under the
table. The boys hearing the saw in
motion started to get out. All in the
shop heard a noise as if the saw had
struck stone, and the workman saw
one boy jump from under the table.
Then he saw hat fly out, and looking
under the tables saw MacEvoy lying
with his head cut open.
He was at once picked up and car
ried to DIR. Garnett's office. DIR. War
ner and DR.. Garnett chanced to be
there together, and at once examined
the wound. They found that the saw
had made a clean cut from the crown
or center of the hair at the top of the
head to the right side of the nose. The
right upper eyelid was completely sew
cred, but the eyeball was untouched.
The cut was three-sixteenths of an inch
wide, and the edges of the skull seemed
smooth to DIR. Garnett's finger. The
boy was able to walk, and told how the
accident had happened. He appealed
to DR.. Garnett to save his life, saying
that he did not want to die. The two
physicians, however, agreed that he
had not chance to live. They dressed
ing the scalp and the flesh of the face
loosely together, and sent him to the
hospital to die as comfortably as might
be.
"In fact, scientifically speaking"
said DR.. Garnett, " he ought to have
died under the table. 1t did not occur
to me that he had a chance to live, and
| hardly thought he would reach the
hospital alive"
During the dressing of the wound the
boy Strengthened up several times, and
the physicians were obliged to tell him
repeatedly to lie still. After the dress
ing he was able to walk, and took in
his hand glass of whisky the physi-
clans gave him, which he drank with
out assistance.
From that time" said DR.. Garnett,
the case was in the hands of DIR.
Marsh, who is the physician in charge
of the hospital for December. | saw
the boy several times, however, as l
was greatly interested. l was surprised
on Tuesday to hear that he was alive,
and / went to visit him. During the
week he seemed to get little better,
but on Saturday night he was seized
with cOnvulsions, which proved fatal.
There were a number of interesting
features that noticed. His left side
was paralyzed, or partly so, but there
was an involuntary muscular action.
For instance, if his left foot or leg was
pinched or tickled he would move it
away, but if you asked him to move it
he could not. His right brain would
not work, but there seemed to be evil
dence that the left brain tried to assume
the functions of both, for ON Saturday
he opened his right eye. He was ra-
tional throughout the week until he had
the convulsions."
DIR. Garnett told several short con-
versations, which showed that the boy
was conscious and rational, and de-
clared it wonderful case. 1t was q
great pity, he said that the boys father
had positively refused to allow the head
| to be examined, and the exact oxtont
of the injury could not therefore be
ascertained. The boy had suffered the
most intense pain, he said, but had
borne it in the most heroic fashion,
DIR. Marsh, who had had charge OF
the case, said he thought the most re-
markable thing in the case was the
nature of the wound. 1t was made in
probably the only way in which such 0
wound could be made without produc'
ing immediate death. 1t was of 6
similar nature to an incised wound
but even a sabre cut of the same
extent would infallibly cause death al
once. He had probed the wound to the
depth of an inch and half, and knew
that the cut was at least of that deptt
and believed it was much deeper. In
fact it must have been, unless the heaC
was moved at the moment of the cut
so that it was trimmed around" anC
this he did not believe. He said tha
the left side of the body was rigidly
contracted, but he did not think it was
paralyzed. He also thought that tht
boys mental faculties were almos
dead, though he admitted that h'
would answer questions three or foul
times repeated. The immediate caus'
of death, he said, were the convulsions
These were caused directly by tn,
wound, any injury to the brain tending
to produce them.
DR.. Quinn, the chief surgeon of tn,
hospital, who has practiced surgery TO
thirty years, differed somewhat from
DIR. Marsh, saying that in his judgmen
the boy was paralyzed on his left side
He did not seem to be so much i'm
pressed with the strangeness of tn
case as younger doctors, saying tina
many wonderful cases had come unde
mis- notice in his long practice. On
cause of it was that so much machiner
was used in the city. Two cases, how
ever, which he cited, were notof injur
les from machinery.
"There was boy named Murphy,
said he, "who fell out of the windoN
of No. 145 Mill street when he was tiv
years old, and struck his forehea
! against curbstone. When they pickle
: him up more than a teaspoonful