Wichita eagle., 1889-05-18
PUZZLED SURGEONS.
The Remarkable and Protracted
Illness of Nellie Steele.
A Case Which Interested New York Hospa-
tai Physicians for Thirty-fOur Years
The Mystery Solved by the Pa
tient Sufferers Death.
On. Y. Cor. Cincinnati Enquirer.l

tient Sufferers Death.
! N. Y. Cor Cincinnati Enquirer.1
When Nellie Steele went to the Bellevue
Hospital she was comparatively young
woman, and it was thought that after a
few days or weeks treatment she would be
out again. cured of the disease from which
she was suffering That was nearly thirty
years ago. Weeks months, years passed
away, and Nellie still remained. She be-
came fixture, and as much a part of the
building as the dull blue stones of which
its walls are made She had the gentlest
disposition, and her patience under suffer
ing was part Of the small talk that every
one heard who visited Bellevue. When
she first entered the hospital her complaint
was diagnosticated as iead-polsoning and
general debility. The treatment indicated
was given with no perceptible result
She seemed to fail slowly, and when
every thing known to the medical profess
sion failed to be of any benefit there was a
wise shaking of heads among the house
staff of physicians, and they gravely came
to the conclusion that they did not know
what was the matter, a conclusion reached
as usual after the stomach had been turned
into a drug mill and the system weakened
y
had passed she became so weak that she
could hardly move, and the only place she
felt easy was in her cot. Nearly thirty
years ago she went to bed and never got
up afterward. Her case has been a puzzle,
and she has been watched by hundreds
of physicians during her long time of sick
ness. One of her pecullarities was fits,
which came regularly every two weeks.
The attack lasted about two hours. They
were not generally severe. Ii they had
been her weak system could not have stood
the shock. Light as they were, they were
looked upon with alarm, as 1t was expected
that she would die in one OF the convul l.
slons. But when years rolled by and
the fits came and went with surpris-
ing regularity, they were looked upon
as harmless, and deemed an effort Of nature
to get relief from some trouble
some condition. Painting was another
strange characteristic. A slight shudder
would pass over her body, her eyes would
turn upward, and then she would become
unconscious. There was no regularity in
the fainting periods. Sometimes the faint
ness would appear every day, and then it
would not come for weeks. 1t was strange
condition. Every indication Of death would
be manifested, and, so perfect was the re-
semblance that on one occasion, when two
newly-appointed orderlies saw her the first
time, they judged that she was dead, and
got the dead box and carted her of to the
dead-house. She came to her senses and
made her presence known in time to keep
herself off the dissecting table. The short
est fainting attack lasted nine minutes; the
longest seventeen days; the average was
eight days. During these periods she did
not onto CriVy hwy do
lcally. Digitalis was freely used to
strengthen the hearts action How she
lived on from year to year no one could
guess. The amount of food she ate would
make the legs of mouse weak in week.
The most interesting feature of the
case, from medical stand point, was
the irregularity of the hearts action.
There was marked disturbance of the
mitral valve and its fiutterings could be
plainly heard without the stethoscope. The
mitral valve was not only affected, bet
every heart murmur known to specialists
could be detected. Her case was well
known to the medical schools, and when
lectures upon the heart were given it was
referred to, and hundreds of students have
got a correct idea of hear symptoms from
a physical examination of the patient.
During the years that she has been at the
hospital, save when she first entered, there
has not been a physician who had the
courage to give name to her diAe ease for
publication. When Lawson Tate, the great
English surgeon, was over here last year
he was shown this patient and made
thorough examination of her. He concluded
that there was some spinal trouble, but ad-
mitted it was the most puzzling case that
he ever saw.
During the last few months every part
of her body was dry and hot to the touch.
She seemed to have high fever, but was
not restless, and made no complaint Her
pulse was 80 rapid that it could not be
counted. Her body was greatly emaciated,
AMI the flesh was unusually sensitive.
Wherever even light pressure was put on
1t redness would follow Immediately,
and an annoying liberation would be set up.
The ulcers were unusually persistent and
soothing treatment was given, but with no
idea of healing them. One of the patients
in the same ward with Nellie became de-
lirious, and threw crutch that stood near
her cot, and it struck Nellie's foot An
angry Inflammation followed that speedily
developed into a malignant ulcer. Gan.
creme set in and spread rapidly. This was
dangerous complication, if the foot was
appear, and, if it was cut off, the shock
would probably kill the patient 1t was
considered that there was a chance, if the
foot was taken off and none if it was left
on, and it was determined to operate.
Ether was given. The foot was cut off just
above the ankle The flesh was almost
bloodless, and of dull white color 1t had
an unusual odor The operation was
quickly performed, the stump being care
fully ligatured and the patient taken
to her cot. She rallied from the shock On
the second day after the operation she had
one of her faint periods, and her body had
the appearance of death. There was no
pulse discernible at the wrist, the heart
beat was only slight tutter, and the
breath was confined 10 the throat AT the
end of ten days there was no sign of life.
Still, it was not deemed safe TO say that she
was dead. At the end of fourteen days the
body began to putrefy and IT was then
known that Nellie was dead. This was q
few days ago There was no pomp and
ceremony at her funeral. Her bier was the
dissecting table. Doctors had grown old
and died waiting for an opportunity TO find
out what was the matter with Nellie. The
various organs in the body were removed.
They were all bloodless and every one
showed some characteristic disease The
heart vas examined last. 1t was larger
than normal The knife sank easily |
through the muscular tissue and then came |
70 an obstruction. 1t was near the ritral |
valve. A careful dissection was made, and |
when the flesh was cleared away the sur
geon held in his hand a perfect needle 1t
was encysted How it got there Is not !
known. but il must have been many years /
AGO. That il caused all her ailments BY IN 1