Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-11-28
A PECULIAR DISEASE.
A MAN WHo s ALWAYS TEN SEC
oNDs Aii.-t,o OF HIMSELF.


edge of the brown stone steps and fell
hcadlong into the street.
An instant later Il colored man rushed
cut of the house, ran down the steps ant!
lifted the fallen one, saying as he did SO:
you should not venture out alone, sir.
You know you have fallen so many times. "
Now this WIS more remarkable than the
fact that Jay Gould had new window cur
tains. so | at once transferred my atten.
ton Was he an invalid: Surely not,
with such color and such physique.
All, | had it, He was a victim of the dis
ease called locomotor ataxi.l, SO named, a
fippant medical student once said, 'be-
cause when it attacks you, you can't loco
mote" But when the gentleman began
to ascend the steps he walked with Il step
that was perfectly firm and steady, though
very deliberate.
| was wrong again, for people afflicted
with the above mentioned disease have a
wobbly, uncertain gait that is painful. By
this time the object of my attention had
entered the house, the door was closed, and
as there was nothing particularly commu-
NEGATIVE about the closed front OF a stone
house was not likely to have my curiosi-
ty satisfied.
A REMARKABLE AFFLICTION.
But fortune favors even the ubiquitous
news gatherer sometimes. AS stood wait
ing-I knew not for what-a carriage drove
up a DOCTORS carriage and from it stepped
the eminent physician DR.. Davis, a man
skilled above his fellows in the treatment
of nervous diseases.
The next day, during the doctors first
Office hour, called upon him.
The learned man was very non-conlmit-
tai until | explained to him that had at
one time been Il student of medicine, and
WAS therefore entitled to know whatever
he could tell me that would be Of benefit.
Thus treasured DIR. Davis proceeded to
explain the nature OF his patients strange
nlalady
st is a case of great interest,"" said he,
ito every man in the profession who knows
anything of it. There is not another case
on record that is the least like it. The dis
ease of this gentleman, whom | will call
Mr. Andrews, is an affection Of the nervous
system resulting from injuries received
years ago in railway accident 1t is of a
nature that has no parallel in medical his
tory
'"rhose nerves which telegraph to the
brain the sensations of touch taste, smell,
hearing and sight are so deranged that the
transmission of sense is not, as in healthy
person, instantaneous. AS nearly us we
can calculate five seconds elapse beforeMr.
Andrews is conscious of any sensation, and
five seconds more before he can make any
response.
"'ihe medical man is baffled in this case
for the reason that this affection manifests
itself only in those movements of the body
that require conscious direction from the
brain Actions which are termed inyolun-
tary such as winking or gaping, are per-
formed the same lis by well person, and
that makes it u question whether it is the
nerves or certain portions of the brain
that are affected.
HE ENJOYS EXCELLENT HEALTH.
"Mr. Andrews is in perfect physical con
dition. He eats heartily sleeps well, and
has an unimpaired digestion. Nor is he
fully alive to the terrible possibilities of
his position.
'''Think of going through life ten seconds
ahead of yourself! There is scarcely any
calculating the things which might hap
PEN"
Mr. Andrews is a rich man fortunately,
and therefore can keep an attendant con-
stantly with him, so that as yet he has ex-
perienced no serious injury. He never
knows when he is approaching an obstacle
or a danger AS in the case Of his falling
down the steps when his belated sight de-
ceives him just SO it is when cab or a
car approaches him. He neither hears nor
sees them until five seconds after any one
else would, and it is another five seconds
before he can guide his movements by
means OF thought and get away.
XIber, ba ic WA liptr thn action baooDp pS
mechanical. but he is constantly ahead of
where he seems to be, and in order to find
out exactly where he. is he has to stop and
catch up with himself.
When he converses with those about him
it is very peculiar fact that when ques-
ton is put to him it is ten seconds before
he responds Now this might be very en-
barrassing.
Suppose, on the other hand, man were
to take from him his watch; before he
would have the power of preventing him
or before he could give any alarm the thief
might be far and away, indeed he might be
away before the man could know that he
had been robbed. A friend salutes him on
the street, but be does not see the saluta-
ton until it is too late to respond, and of
course the friend thinks he has been
snubbed.
When Mr.. Andrews first recovered from
his accident he used to attend the theatre
His taste was for comic opera and melo
drama. But he does not goan more. The
peculiar manifestations Of his malady
caused much embarrassment to his friends
who accompanied him. Appreciation of
Jokes and ludicrous situations came to him
just ten second after everybody else. His
hearty laugh would not be noticed in a
general chorus. But his explosive ha has
when the audience was quiet were start
ling-New York Press.