The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-06-10
NO FOOD FOR EIGHT WEEKS.
The Terrible SufTerings of a Little Girl
in Missouri.

The Terrible SufTerings of Little Girl
in Missouri.
Little Lizzie Meadows has lain speeches.,
mOtionless. and without food for fifty-six
days. Yesterday a reporter visited the
Meadows home in Walnut Park, a half
deserted suburb Of Independence In a
darkened room lay the girl, pallid as a corpse
and as motionless, save for the quick drawn
breath through her parted lips. Her Shout
ders, arms and hands were emaciated be-
yOnd belief. her face, though absolutely
cOl0rleSs, being much less affected. An Oc-
caSOnal lifting Of the eyelidS was the only
perceptible motion, though Mrs. Meadows
says her daughter is now able to lift one
arm slightly.
The child is starved to pitiful gauntness
Her face Is waXeu pale, thin, and drawn
with agony, her arms are wasted till Moth
ing but The skin covers the bones, and her
slender fingers are transparent and fragile.
OF her condition she Is fully conscious,
though she is speeches. and absolutely mo-
tionless save for the twitchings of the face
and the half-lifting of the eyebrows.
On December 29th Lizzie was u years old,
and though slender and delicate she was in
excellent health. She attended school a
few days after the Christmas holidays
closed, but soon began to complain Of
strange tieeting pains. first in her head, then
was taken from school and was soon very
ill-the physicians who came said it was
spinal meningitis.
The girls condition grew serious. She
lost the power Of speech, of motion, and on
March 21st she partOok of the last m0rSel Of
food that she has tasted In eight weeks.
Her parents and attending physicians
tempted her with every conceivable dainty,
but she was compelled to reject them all.
Occasionally the mOtiOnlesS sufferer would
take few sips of lemonade or of water and
this with an occasional draught of soda her
parents say was the only approach to n0Ur-
lSllment she has had during her long trial.
Clstern water she could not endure, being
able TO drink only that taken from a neigh
boring spring.
Daily the doctors who puzzled themselves
in vain over the strange case said ''the girl
must die within twenty-fOur hours" and
her patient mother, wh0 has scarcely left
her side, thought every feeble breath would
be the last But the girl, though fading
daily, until but skeleton remains, lived on.
The physicians who came confessed them
selves at fault; no such case had ever before
come Under their observation. At times the
glrFS tongue became black, coated, hard
and as dry, her mother says, "as a cob"
These coatingS, however, were removed.
their presence apparently affecting the sut-
ferer little.
Through all these weeks the child's mind
remained unaffected. She knew of her suf-
ferings. and was able, by changes of coun-
tenance, to answer questions.
The doctors of independence came and
exhausted their skill in unavailing efforts to
restore health to the child until last week,
when one determined to apply galvanic
battery. The battery was used charity, a
very feeble current being transmitted to the
child through the hands of her brother and
the physician, who each held pole of the
battery, lest too strong shock might drive
the life from the feeble body. There was at
first no percOptible effect from this treat
ment, which was repeated daily, but at
present it promises TO release the girl from
her living death.-Kansas City Times