The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-08-12
BULLET IN HIS BRAIN.
e.orro Appel stin Lives and May
Even Get Well.
majors PROBED and TREPANNED,
~, the Lead Is Still secrctcd From
Tncir Kcn.-Appell Sits Up and Talks
with His Attendants and Shows
sisns orRapldIy Improving Health

yrw YoRK, Aug. IA man with a
,,,,n, in his brain was able to sit up in
taI and talk with the doctors at Belle
WV. Wv, Hospital yesterday. II he RECEIVERS,
on5}t Is thought that he may, the case
viii will be a notable one in the history Of
surgery.
man wood.caryer, forty-one years old,
~ ,,, has been living at 27l Avenue A.
!, was noticed that he had been men
t,Ily depressed for some time' and
sbor,ly after II o'clock Saturday night
he attempted to kill himself with a re-
yolyOr,
An ambulance was called and the
non wns found in semi-conscious
aA"riitinn. lie was taken to Bellevue
To,nital He arrived there ut mid
a r and Dr. W. +. Stone and the
Other physicians at once made al exam
nation Of his wound.
If was found that he had fired one
.,o, and that the ball had passed
t .Grorob the brain. Blood was slowly
.rrtjne from the hole where the bullet
lad entered, lust ut the back OF the
- ri,ht temple and little above the ear.
'T The bullet had followed an. obliQue
course and had passed through the
skull and the brain towards the 6ack OF
Ina head. The force OF the explosion,
Gowcycr had not been sufficient to car
~ The bullet through the skull at the
iork and it was evidently still lodged
in The brain. A probe was then care
iuliy inserted in the wound.
With this instrument, which was
slowly inserted into the mans brain
mill touched the back OF the skull,
The doctors were unable to reach the
bpIlet II was evident that the bullet
had becn detected from its course by
the interior surface OF the skull.
Trepannng was then rcsortcd to in
an eIlort 10 find the bullet. With the
trephine, a little cylindrical saw, with q
roipt like a gimlet, small round piece
6ibonc was cut out Of the back OF APP
pelrs skull.
The probe was again inserted, but it
was impossible to find where the bullet
had gone Having struck the back OF
the skull, it had glanced off in another
direction and buried itself somewhere
in the brain with its remaining force.
There it stuck all day yesterday.
Tho ourration was performed soon
after Appel was admitted to the hos
pi,al. As the morning advanced lie
seemed to gain strength and was per.
tectly conscious during the greater part
OF Yesterday, In speaking of the case
10 reporter, DR.. Stone said:
appel has been doing well during
the day, but it is impossible TO say yet
what his chances OF ultimate recovery
may be. To-day he could understand
perfectly what was said to him. For
Instance, if lie were asked to move q
little or change his position he would
do 50 at once, showing that the brain
was active and the tnuscles OF his body
under control.
"lIc could also understand every
thing taking place around him, but Of
course was not permitted to talk much.
understand that hc shot himself with
u 92.calibre revolver, which does not
carry very large bullet"
Dr. Stone was asked il there was any
record at Bellevue Hospital of a man
living for any length Of time after bull
let lad broken his skull and coursod
through his brain. Hcsaid:
There was u case hero about a year
ago Of Il man named Gillespie with a
somewhat similar wound. Gillespie
lived for thirty hours. Cases have also
been known whore men have lived Tor
many years with bullets in their brains.
Oi course in this case the mans chances
for recovery arc improved by tho small
ness Of the bullet. He has been doing
very well since he was received in the
hospital, and has fair chance OF re-
Covcry, Still, it is impossible to say
now that he will hold ont. In probing
the wound, Of course, the probe merely
followed the cut in the brain tissue
made by the bullet, which went clear
through to the back OF the head"
Late last night, more than twenty
four hours after the shooting, Appel
was alive and showed no material
all 4