The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-07-11
EFFECTS OF KOCH'S LYMPH
A Pittsburg Physician Practically
Butchered in a German Hospital.
How the Injections Are Given, and the Terrible
Sensations Which Follow Them, Soon
Sending the Patient to the Grave.

PITTsBURG. July 10.-Dr. f. T. Painter,
of this city. was a passenger by the steamer
Trave, which reached New York yesterday.
DR.. Painter was en- route home from Ber-
lin. where he has been for the past seven
months. He was one of the first Americans
who were treated in Berlin with Koch's
method. and was four months under treat
ment in the hospital. Last evening he
told a New York correspondent of the Dis
patch the story of his experience with the
lymph.
Six years ago Dr.. Painter studied bacte-
riology for q short time in Koch's laboratory
In Berlin. and when the announcement was
made last year that Koch had succeeded
with his lymph. DR.. Painter determined to
60 to Berlin again to study the lymph for q
time and to secure some of it. For some
time he had been afflicted with tuberculosis
of the vertebr8. He sailed on the North
5. and within three days his spinal
trouble had developed to an alarming ex-
tent.
There were other physicians on the
Fulda, and DR.. Painter was well taken care
OF. otherwise, he says, he would probably
have died before the voyage was ended.
He reached Berlin early in December and
also applied for admission to the hospital:
AItcI q low udJb WdlLiuS no 90 duuiittCu
TO the Kings Clinic. which was in charge
of DIR. Won Bergman.
On Dec. z it was decided that an
operation was necessary; and it was per
cision was made in the back and the bone
was examined. This out was not sewed
MP, but simply left TO heal as it would.
Two days after this operation the first
injection of the lymph was given to Dr..
Painter. The injection was of two MILL
grams OF the lymph. That was the begin
ming OF q decline III health and strength
which. DR.. Painter says. nearly killed him.
if the treatment had been continued. When
he left Pittsburg he was In fairly good
health and was strong. He weighed over
$50 pounds.
RESULT OF THE TREATMENT.
The lymph dragged him down to q mere
skeleton, and this afternoon, after three
months in a hotel. which were wholly
given up to the effort to build up and get
strong. and after a sea voyage which he says
has lone HIM a world of good, he is still
thirty-five pounds lighter than when he
sailed away In November.
His first words. when asked about his
experience, this afternoon. were: "Oh, 1t
was horrible. horrible. They have killed
me-"
Immediately after receiving the first in
lection, Dr.. Painter suffered from a severe
fever. 1t was an unusually high fever and
continued for several hours. The fever
was followed by a chill. which DR.. Painter
describes as being just exactly such a
chill as those people in the South nave
who suffer from what they call the break
bone fever" He shook, he said. until it
seemed as If his teeth would rattle out of
his head. 1t was as If all the ice which
he had taken while suffering from the fever
had suddenly produced it's natural effect
and was freezing him. When the chill had
left him he was too weak to care what
happened to him, and simply wanted to lie
still. Then followed q feeling of fearful
lit was rs If something had gone wrons."
he said this afternoon. Il felt all the time
that some dreadful thing was going TO hap
pom to me, and yet l could not tell what it
pense which was horrible" This period of
depression lasted for five days. 1t brought
with it q complete loss of appetite. The
only thing Dr.. Painter cared for durlng
in charge of the clinic prescribed wine as q
stimulant. and DR.. Painter took It in con-
siderable quantities. They gave him a
weak native red wine which he did not
could not be satisfied with any of them,
nor could he enjoy port. He was not q
drinking nan and this fact did not render
the use of the stimulants prescribed any
more easy for hin.
All the time that he was insthe clinic he
was attended by DIR. Won Bergman and
his first assistant. DR.. Schlauger. There
were tive assistant physlcians to Dr.. Won
Bergmann, and one or other of them
visited DR.. Painter every two hours. A
close watch was kept of his condition, and
his pulse, temperature and other symptoms
were carefully noted. lie was also visited
twice each day by Dr.. Won Bergman and
q sister of some society, whose name he does
not know.
EXPERIENCE OF A c INJECTION.
As soon as he recovered from this five
days period of depression. q second iDjec-
ton of the lymph was gwen to him. The
incision in his bach was not healing rapid
~. and in fact suppuration had set in. The
second injection was followed Immediately
BY the came syn ptoms which had followed
the first. First, there was the high fever.
which continued for several hours. and
was Immediately followed by a severe chill.
Then ensued a repetition of that misera-
BILE period of depression. It's symptoms
were, III any thing, exaggerated, and the
loss of appetite continued. The sanitary
arrangements of the clinic were not salts
factory to DIR. Painter, and his usual regu-
larity of habit was seriously broken up. To
add To his other discomfort a second opera
tion was deemed necessary.
tie was again put under chlOrOfOrm and
the operation performed, with no better re-
suits than had attended the first. During
all this time the continuance of the lymph
treatment was defended by the attending
physicians in the hope that there would
come q time when the regular succession of
fever. chill and a period of depression
would not follow the injection. The doc
tors hoped to obtain q condition in which
the reaction would not set in.
DR.. Painter says that 1t is undoubtedly
possible TO obtain that condition II the
lymph treatment is adhered to for q snffi-
cient length of time. But when il is oh
tanned the patient will have ceased to
breathe. This regular succession of in
lection, fever, chill and period of depression
was continued for four months. and during
that time DIR. Painter received thirteen in
jections. They began at two ~mllligrams
and increased in size until the last three
were ten milligrams each.
During this time he was continually
growing weaker. and, as he said this after
noon, nothing but his naturally fine con-
stitution and tremendous vitality pulled
him through the long ordeal. Some time
after the second operation had been per-
formed the doctors told him that they
thought an examination of the back was
necessary. and for the third time he was
taken TO the O-perating-room and put under
chloroform.
Under these discouraging circumstances
1t will be readily understood with what
satisfaction DIR. Painter received from DR..
Won Bergman the announcement that he
believed the lymph was not a success and
had discarded il. DIR. Painter soon after
went To a hotel. and began the effort to re-
cover something of what he had lost
through the lymph treatment. His appe-
title was tempted with all sorts OF delica-
cies, but II was slow in returning.