The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-04
A MOTHERS ENDURANCE.
Held n Compress i'm Place for Seven
-Ty Hours.

Philadelphia Inquirer.
A cut in the roof of a small boys mouth
by a sharp piece of candy; a continued
bleeding from the cut for twelve DAYS: the
failure of usual means of treatment. end
ing in the mother sitting for three long
days and nights, holding "a compress over
the wound in an effort to save her son
from bleeding to death, and, finally, the
child's cure, is the rather unusual success
sion of events which have taken place in
the last three weeks at the home of NJ. c..
White, an upholsterer, of Germantown.
They furnish 2 striking instance of endur-
ance actuated by q mothers love and have
brought to the notice of the medical pro-
fession of the city a rare condition of the
blood.
on Oakland place, a small court running
south from Duval street. in Germantown.
The family consists of father, mother and
five children, ranging in size from a fif-
teen-year-old girl down to the baby.
Three weeks ago yesterday Rex. u bright
little fi~axe--haired boy of three and u half
Years, the next to the oungeS in the fam
lily, having invested a. bright cent given
him that morning for good behavior in a
huge piece Of "taffy-on-a-stick," was sit
ting on the steps enjoying his sticky pur-
chase as only children of that age can.
But sucking was entirely too slow for this
w~ide-awake youth, so he began to bite.
His strong teeth were causing the candy
to disappear rapidly. when one of the frag
ments, sharp almost as a piece of glass,
made a slight CT t in the roof of his mouth.
TIE cut began TO bleed, and his cries quick
ly brought his mother.
Sne lrled 10 STOP the now or blood, but
failed. A doctor was called. The flow was
stopped temporarily, but started again
SCor after the doctor left. For several days
different remedies commonly used in sim,
liar cases We're tried, but with no success.
The child continued to slowly bleed to
death. A dentist was called in consulta-
ton, in the hope that a plate might be
made TO press against the wound and give
it a chance to heal, but it was found i'm
possible to keep the boy quiet long enough
to secure an impression of the mouth.
Finally it was decided that the only way
TO save his life was to have a pad of cot
ton held ever the cut until it was h Aaled.
This the mother did. A compress was
made. and with overwhelming fortitude
she held it over the wound fer seventy
tw hours. During this time the child was
fed by her mother. She spent most of the
time sitting in a chair, holding the child
on her lap, varying this by lying on q
couch, but always keeping the pressure on
the pad. AT the end of this period the
wound was healed.
The medical men express great admira>
ton for her pluck. and speak of her ac-
ton as "a wonderful example of great en-
durance."
The cause of the cut not healing sooner
v as a peculiar conditi IN OF the blood know1>
as "hemophilia,' in which the blood does
not c~oagulate.
is known as a 'bleeder.'' and is very rare.
The condition is inherited, and usually
proves fatal in childhood, although girls
are not so apt to be affected as boys. Out
of five hundred authenticated cases 400 boys
and forty-eight girls died before the age
of seven. One peculiar fact in this connec-
ton IS that the bleeding is more from the
capillarieS than from the veins or arteries,
so that while a severe surgical operation
may be undergone by one afflicted in this
way without the loss of life, d slight
scratch may prove fatal. Mrs. Whites
brother. when a baby, died from a cut OF
the lin