The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-03-15
A Medical Wonder.

The medical fraternity Of Chicago are
at present interested in one of the rare
cases In which life has been sustained I'M
der circumstances that seemed Incredible.
The subject Of their attention bears the
distinction of having had his throat cut
from ear to ear and having also been
hung and stabbed, yet living to tell the
story of his miraculous escape. Simon
Lodenski is the individual whose expe-
rienee has been thus unique A reporter
for the Times, saw him last night, and
learned from his own lips the story of his
adventures. Lodenski is a Roumanian
by birth, and has been in this country
only four or five weeks. He is twenty
eight years old, and of unusual intelll-
gence. He is a native of Jassy, in Rou-
mania, and was q wine merchant there.
In February, 1877, Ladenski and party
of eleven other wine merchants were re-
turning from Faslin, a town some eighteen
miles from their home, where they had
sold their goods In consequence the
party carried with them between $4,000
and $4,000. They were followed by a
gang of rowing robbers Roumanian gyp-
sizes, and on the evening Of the 18th Of
February were set upon by them. The
gypsies were armed with the seythes used
in the vineyards, and made wholesale
onslaught on the defenseless merchants.
four of whom had their heads moved
off at the first attack. Others were
hacked to pieces. Lodenskis throat was
cut from ear to ear, and his windpipe was
completely severed. The large arte-
ries were not, however, cut, and to this
fact he owed bis life. Lodenski became
unconscious for while. When he re-
turned to his senses his dead and bleed
ing companions were lying around him,
while the robbers were quarreling
over their spoils He tried to crawl
of, and his captors gave him another
taste of death by hanging him up
to tree. He again became unconscious
but recovered later when he felt the
blood gushing from three or four stabs in
the breast which the miirderous gypsies
had inflicted after cutting him down.
Lodenski heard the clock in the neigh
boring town strike midnight, but again
became half-unconscious, and lay for
forty-eight hours, till he was found by
some peasants. Another of the wine
merchants was also found, who lived only
long enough to be taken to the hospital.
Lodenski was sent to the hospital at
Vienna, where his case received the at
tention of the most eminent physicians.
1t was then ascertained that he had sur
vived the hanging because his windpipe
had been cut off and there was nothing
to choke. In his condition it was i'm
possible for him to take any nourishment
in the usual manner, and enema was re-
sorted to and kept up for two years. A
trachea tube was supplied, and worn by
Lodenski in order to let the air into his
windpipe. The opening from the wind
pipe to the mouth was very nearly closed
up, and he could not breathe, which
made it impracticable for the physicians
to close up the opening below. The en-
largement of the larynx necessary was
begun by means of a small catheter,
which at first could only be endured by
the patient for few seconds at time.
Gradually bis powers of endurance in
creased, and the size of the laryngal di-
lator was increased. But it took two
years to effect any appreciate enlarge
ment. The laryngal dilator now used
by Lodenski j. about half an inch In d.