The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-07-12
Il Blind SURGEONS SKILL
Very Delicate Operation Performed
With Great Success.
DR.. Cooke. of Boston, Though Sight
less. Has an Extremely Sensitive
Touch. HAS Gained Diplomas
From Five Institutions.
Two Recent Cases.

y When DR.. James R. Cooke Of Boston
WAS months old, both eyes were ruined
by laundering doctor, who administer
ed wrong medicine. Since then he
has been totally blind. He is now 80
years of age, and he is consulted in Diff
: cult cases by the most eminent of the
regular physicians OF Boston He has
performed very recently two very deli
cate and difficult surgical operations,
and in both GASES the patients are doing
we'll
BE locstes q disease by his sensitive
touch. and he tells tho color Of goods in
the same way singular as it may ap-
pear. A lady who had eight or ten SAM
pies of dress goods, each about inches
square aud of different colors, handed
them to DR.. Cooke tho other day, and
he at once told accurately tho color and
even the shade Of color of each and
selected the samples of best quality.
When handed several national bank and
government currency bills, he at once
told the denomination Of each and the
color, whether green or black. he tells
tho compilation of n person by touching
the skin. 1t is difficult to believe that a
blind man could do this, hut he is soon
90 do It, and accurately too
DR.. Cooke went among Buffalo Bills
Indians the other day and designated
their character by their voices, spoken
in the Indian dialect. He has three di-
plomas from colleges of this and foreign
countries and four certificates of com.
mendaticn from institutions where he
has taken special courses of study. He
went through course of study under
the famous Weir Mitchell
Before Dr. Cocllo was 2 years of ago
he WAS employed by large tobacco
house to select the raw tobacco for
them. He never failed to get the best
quality and the most desirable color
all by the touch From this source he
earned over $1,000, which paid his OK
penses at n university in Tennessee,
where he stood ut the head of his class.
From the Tennessee university he Ell.
tered Il medical school, where he was
to tho fore all through the class. Ho
Aas taken special studies in five other
Institutions, part OF them in Europe.
To attain all that this remarkable man
has accomplished in tho higher classics
and professional studies of the colleges
required u large and firmly knit brain,
perseverance and self reliance TO an un.
usual degree.
The two women patients that Inc
operated upon recently are both doing
we'll In one case II large tumor was re.
moved. The other was still more diff.
cult and delicate case, When lifting out
the tumor, DR.. Cocke found he had "a
forceps holding veins and arteries He
tied blood vessels quickly and removed
the forceps. He takes up and tics severed
arteries in difficult cases moro rapidly
than any Of the clear seeing surgeons.
He has no IDEA of the appearance of the
moon and planets and stars nor OF the
sun, and night and day are AL the same
to him, except that the stiffness of the
night does not escape his attention. He
IS hard worker and unhagging student.
He has n typewriter TO whom he die
tates. His wife writes medical prescrip
lions III Latin.-Hartford Times.