New-York tribune., 1890-04-20
AS SEEN BY A PATIENT.
LIFE IN A WARD OF A BIG HOSPITAL
TIE MAN WHO GEOANED HYMN-TESDET
SKILL OF THE NURsEs-IMPREsSIoNs OF
MAN WHO SPENT A MONTH IN
BED IN TILE INSTITUTION.
BED IN THE INSTITUTION.

A MAN WHO SPENT MONTH IN
BED IN THE INSTITUTION.
Two young bachelors had been 10 the theatre and
were standing i'm front Of the boarding house OF one OF
them chatting. before parting for the night one OF
the young men suffering with a severe cough and
pains in his chest
What would you do. old fellow. IL You were 10
become seriously Ill - asked his companion, with an
expression Of affcctionatc interest
The Lord only knows was the reply. 81 sup
pose ia have to go to hospital. There's no posi-
blity Of obtaining proper treatment in boarding
house,
That same night the young with the cold De
extremely i'll. and in the morning physician
was summoned. who at once pronounced the malany
pneumonia. In reply to the doctors questions the
sufferer said that he had relatives in the city,
whereupon the man Of medicine recommended tha'
he should be conveyed Immediately to hospital
The calling Of the sick had brought him somewhat
into contact with such institutions, and he elected I"
be taken to the NewYork Hospital in West Fifteenth
st. \ carriage called and he was driven there
in company with the physician who readily secured
admission for the patient
Upon entering. the sufferer assisted into re-
cepton room the office floor and made to lie do"h
upon leather conch. 3" BE sure not to try to Sit
up or even raise your head cautioned the at
tendant. who then withdrew. moment later 4
physician entered and asked innnmcrab" questions
about symptoms. pounded the young man upon Ills
chest and back few times. and listened. WIN MS
ear placed close 10 the patients chest ana bach I"
what WAS going on inside Then he. too vent away
and another physician came in, who went through TIC
sane procccding Neither would tell the sick man
the result Of his diagnosis Then two orcIllc' came
with strctChcr and the patient was carried I" an
elevator. which stopped at Ward ". In THIS War h'
was laid bed screens were placed around inc
bed and the sick mans clothing was gently removed
after which he warmly tucked up in blankets
by a kind looking nurse. who repeated the caution "f
the attendant about sitting Up raising the head
All these prcmlnares firmly hycd in the patient
mind because hc was more than half frightened at
the bare idea OF being In a hospital
ILLUSIONS OF THE SICK MAN.
After being put comfortably 10 bed, all sensatons
Of fear and insecurity passed away. the gentle hands
and voices Of the and the confident air OF the
physician in prescribing medicines giving the sufferer
a feeling Of almost perfect confidence. Then came "A
period of mlsincss which the consciousness Of in
tense suffering could not break. The beds on either
side Of the ward. neatly covered with clean white
spreads. seemed 10 be many ndistlnct mounds, ~
one time Of snow and AT another Of marble. The
first few nights wcrc full Of peculiar sensations The
nurses said ofcrward that the patient had slept at
intervals bnt to him II seemed that hc lad not slept
at ALL lie believed that he had spent the nights
watching the gro,quc shapes and figures that filed
the ward.
The chandeliers. unllehicd. threw long shadows
npon the ceiling from the dim light OF a shaded lamp
in one end Of the Each arm Of the Chandelier
appeared TO be q monster serpent. watching for
Sleeping victim upon whom he could fall. and then
again 1t would become the cnaclc Of octopus about
10 seize upon it, prey. Anon the Hight IN the room
vould become the horrible Of gigantic beast.
and ostrich like. the sufferer would cover h> head
with his blanket to hide himself from the terrible
creature.
one dav after the sufferer had hccn in m" ward
for a week during which time d" felt convinced. he
had not slept wipk. he became possessed "i thc
idea that unlcs, he -houd sleep he would die. When
the physician came around again. he asked II he
could not have an opiafe. lie was told that one
was not needed that he doing nicely and iad
slept fairly we'll He protested that he had not slept
since hc came 20 the hospital noi even a single
solitary wink aud he PLEADED for medicine that would
give him rest at night. The doctors were oldiiat"
however. and the patient became greatly excited.
"H YOU don't make me sleep he cried. Il won't
be able 10 IT, and forthwith hc proceeded 10
groan in agony lie W.. suffering Intensely, np
doubt but his mental agitation undoubtedly caused
lin believe hi, pain was worse than II Wa.
TnE PHYsICIANs YIELD.
Wha, good do the advanced discoveries in med
cal science do he cried. 90 II your opatrs are not
used tv relieve pain
At last the doctor, Welded and or,cfcd hypo.
dcrmic injection Of morphine. Tn, administered
and the patient went calmly 10 slccp lhi scene "a@
repeated several times, Int aitcrwar the patient had
TO believe that nothing mor narcotic than aqua
pufa went beneath M, outicc after the nr, injection.
When the fever had been broken the mi-iinc-, Of
the days and the horrible visions Of the nights pa-ci
away and the patient then began to notice What wa
really going around him. There were twenty three
beds In the ward each containing sick man. \
majority ~ the sick had pneumonia and the
others were suffering from rheumatism. ncphru,.
Eut 1.DH. flta
bachelors night middle aged man lay groaning He
the champion Colncr Beginning early ia the
morning he grcancd until late At night. and AT in
tcrvals In the night hc would wake mp and begin
grOanng he had cfi OF. lie lroaned la every
key OF the chromatic scale, and In at least two
octaycs. The other patients were almost crazy listen
Ing to the constant emission Of srOan-. and visitors
hurried out Of the ward unable to stand the horrible
noise
The man was exceedingly IN, and there was lrilo
hope Of his recovery but hi, disease not one
likely to be attended with sufficient pain such
iIightful groaning. After the noise had been endured
for three days. Miss Turner. the gcntlc,t of
nurses, went 10 him. placed her hand his forehead
and asked
BARKER what is the matter that you groan So
much
ITS nothing but an internal habit. suppose was
the reply and Barker went groaning Dr. Nc
Crocry chief Of the House stan for the ward threat
cned to put him In Isolated cell If he did not ccisc
but Barker grOancd worse than before. On sunday
morning the NTH Of arkcr's groaning day. he began
to groan "A regular tune which II not difficult to
discover attempt at Nearer Ny God Ia Thee
The other patients listened to the weird sound, with
their blood chilling until the tune switched off into
johnny, Get Your Gun when the whole ward burst
ont laughing. The seventh day wa Barker; last
He died from the exhaustion resulting from his efforts
eroan li2 hours without stopping. lie died, bat
he achieved rcnown, having established record like
unto which nothing was ever known In the history
Of the Institution. The ward seemed wonderfully quct
when barrier had gone.
\ SCENE At NIGHT
The tcrrors Of the nights did not cease with the
return OF consciousness. There a chilling sig
nifcancc n the act Of placing double around
"A sufferers bed the late hours Of the night, the
hurried footsteps Of the orderly and nurse, and in the
unusual visit of the doctor at such time Iut little
was to be heard. for everybody spci, whispers AT
H.. L.