Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-04-17
FROM rzE JAWS or DEATH.
Fifty Grains OF Morphia as . Dose-A
Human Life Saved By Persistent, sci-
entifc Treatment.

Fifty Grains Of Morphia at . Dose-1
Human Life Saved BY Persistent, sci
entific Treatment.
In yesterday mornings issue al accoun
was published in this paper Of q cas- OF al
tempted suicide by morphia, and it was az
sumed from the appearance and condition
Of the subject that, in spite Of the effort
being made to save him, he would furnisl
the coroner with another inquest. Forum
ately, this result was avoided by the younl
man regaining consciousness through til,
persistent efforts Of his attendants and tn
scientific treatment Of the physician ID
charge OF the case, at IL .. m. yesterday, o.
about twelve hours after he took the drug
Although greatly and seriously Frustrated
Dr.. Todd, the physician in charge, enter
tains hopes Of his final recovery. though il
is hardly possible but that some perman.
emit injury has been done to the system by
the ordeal he has gone through.
Being q case Of more than ordinary i'm.
p~ortance. owing to the fact Of the subject
having taken enough morphia fifty grains.
not sixty, as stated yesterday to kill q
dozen men, and the grave symptoms at
tending the case, DR.. Todd was asked to
describe the treatment In detail, with the
object Of showing that proper treatment
will restore the most hopeless cases, and a.
q guide to others for future reference.
81 found the patient" said the Doctor,
''in o state Of profound insensibility at IL
p. m. on Friday, about half an hour or
.ek1- L. La k-L~- ALa - @.HhSo ard
il was with the utmost difficulty that he
was aroused. Mustard end salt in warm
water being nearest at hand, I admins.
tered that first, with an Injection Of apo
morphis over the region Of the stomach,
while . prescription OF sulphate OF sine in
thirty grain doses was being prepared,
three OF which we're administered before
vomiting wal produced. A hypo-
dermic injection OF atropia, one-sourth
grain, was then given, and repeated later
The patient al nov confided to the
care OF his friends, who carried him into
the open air and walked or dragged him
briskly around, while Negotiations Of his ex.
wa unsparingly carried ON. At
l a. m. he was limp and pulseless. with ap.
parent suspension oil respiration, and was
again placed in bed in q se~mi-recumbent
The cas- seemed to me abso.
lutely hopeless and death inevitable. ]
then resorted to electrical stimulation. Of
The spine and to artificial respiration by
The faradic current applying the poles re-
,pectively to the phrenic nerve in the neck
and to the solar plexus in the
region OF the stomach, opening and closing
the circuit at regular intervals. Hypo-
injections OF whisky were also 4
administered and the feet and
egs kept in hot mustard baths. Electrical
respiration was steadily main
jained for five hours until 6 q. m. Normal
had gradually manifested it,
'elf, the pulse becoming more regular and
'he temperature Of the body normal. |
Further active t~reatment,,was then sus-
pended and the patient allowed to sleep |
After the lapse Of two hours
! failure Of respiration again necessitated
The use OF electricity with happy results"
From the foregoing it appears that no
'ase, however apparently desperate, il
norphia poisoning should be p%rematurely
iven up, and too much credit cannot be
iven DR.. Todd for his persistent treatment
q case he himself at first considered
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