The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-06-19
Visiting InralIds.

Visiting InYaIIds.
! When a person is very ill: visitors as a
rule do more harm than good. I remem-
Der once helping nurse q young girl who
was very. low with pneumonia; perfect
quiet was enforced in order to prevent a
rise IN fever, and if possible to induce
.sleep.sAllsWas going well, when some
visitors who had called to inquire after
,tieir friend we're susnered at once, by
some .thoughtless member of the family.
into the room of the sick girl. The sound
of! her friends voices of course aroused
her at once, and though she could
scarcely speak above a whisper she tried
to, entertain them. As an inevitable
consequences her fever instantly began to
rise, q bright flush appeared upon her
cheek which few minutes before had
been. quite pale, and every symptom Of
the sdisease: grew decidedly alarming.
To imagine that one who is very i'll
desires to be entertained, is altogether
erroneous. All that is wanted is peace
and quietness, to be allowed to rest
undisturbed. in: that semi stupid state
which many diseases, and sometimes the
remedies prescribed by physicians, kind
sly enyelop the mental consciousness in
order to insure insrtness, so thst the body
may have time to heal. And when this
is not the case, have noticed in caring
for. sick people that it is almost impossi-
bic for q visitor TO enter the room from
the outside world, and, even with the
best intentions, not to do or say some
thing which will excite OF irritate the
delicate nerves of the invalid, which may
perhaps be already unstrung.
z s:;Atno time is there greater need of that
Understandable quality called "tact;;" or
should outside, topics be discussed unre
lservedly, something is sure to be said
which had much better be left unsaid.
And the invalid; who was abnormally
animated and excited while in the pres
ence of the caller: will be:likely, after his
departure, to have period OF prostration
which will do more harm than the visit
did good.
It is always depressing to sick person
to hear of others who ere i'll; yet how
constantly do We hear visitors entertain
them with minute and narrowing
accounts of the illness which they them
selves have passed through, or which
their friends have experienced They
seem to think that only such topics suit
the sick room, while in reality they of all
others should be tabooed. The object
of the visit should be to cheer and not to
lower the spirits Of the invalid, who
surely: has enough troubles Of his own 10
do that; and while it is noticeable that
they are prone to exaggerate every disa
greeable sensation, hopeful cheerishness
IS but family accepted.
~. When one has been sick long time,
the monotony of the surroundings
becomes exceedingly wearisome; so it is
8 good idea to carry something new-any
little simple gift, freshly gathered
flower, bit of fruit, "a book or a picture
Just to let them know they are in your
thoughts when absent
Unless one has passed through some
such ordeal, it is impossible to realize
how good it is TO have something fresh to
lock at, the weary eyes grow SO tired OF
old things, the same pictures, the furni.
ture Of the room, and even the dress of
the attendant a lady. once told me
that during a recent illness the wall
paper in her room had tortured her
almost beyond endurance-the patterns
persistently shaping themselves into dia-
monds wherever her eye happened to
light.
.S,lo 7fp len orr-o
BILE in q sick room, not too many, just 8
few, so-that they may be changed often
before the invalid becomes tired of them,
or the plants begin to droop. The tedi-
urn of ia protracted illness may be much
slessened by becoming interested in flow
ers, noting the changes which appear day
br day, counting the new leaves and
buds and rejoicing in ths beautiful bios
isoms. So many interesting little expert.
ments, too, may be carried on in even q
small window garden, in tia propagation
of plants by seeds, cutting and gratis.
Life and health are what the invalid
longs for, and even forms Of iuanimate
life and luxuriant heslthfulness are fas-
cinating in the extreme.
After one becomes convalescent, the
mind runs principally on something good
TO eat; any dieh then, even the simplest
if prepared away from home, is deli
cacy. At this time the discreet visitor
can do great deal of good. The inva-
lids mind wants to be taken away from
himself ;he really needs to be amused
and entertained, and by that time all the
possibilities Of bis regular attendants are
well night exhausted. He longs for q
breath to the outer world. new people
and new topics. In calling On even a
convalescent, however, be sure not stay
too long. Let your visit be like Sam
Weller's letter J. to his sweetheart-so
short that Che receiver will wish it we're
longer.-Hortense Dudley in Country
Gentleman.