Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1900-02-01
FED BY MEANS or A TUBE.
NO Food Has Passed Col Murphy's
Mouth for Ten Years.


rare operation of gastrostomy was per.
formed on Thursday afternoon. was re.
ported as resting quietly yesterday
ana it was said that his meals were
given TO him regularly and that he
seemed to strengthen under the nour-
ishment.
The operation performed upon Mr.
Seellg recalls the fact that a similar
one was performed 10 years ago upon
Col Michael c. Murphy. who is now
president of New York city's Board of
Health. Colonel Murphy'h health has
been remarkably good ever since he
submitted TO the surgeons knife. and
he suffers but little inconvenience al.
though food has not passed his lips in
10 years. During all the time Colonel
Murphy has been an active man of
business
During these 10 years Colonel Muir
ply has had his daily meals pumped
into his stomach through a hole cut In
It's walls. A silver tube is Kept in the
opening and does not cause Colonel
Murphy any Inconvenience. The food
passage in his throat is hopelessly and
forever closed.
Strange to say, so thoroughly ac.
customed to this mode Of life has Col.
onel Murphy become that 1t is doubt.
tul II II ever occurs to him that he is
in any way handicapped
Colonel
medical marYels OF the age. Since
1890 practically every particle of food
that bias gone to build up the wasting
tissues of his frame has been pumped
into his stomach through an incision
in his abdomen This process has to
be gone through with every morning,
noon and night Colonel Murphy sits
back in his easy chair in his office In
the Board of Health Building. and
smokes and laughs and chats with his
friends and tells them that he enjoys
the unique experience of taking his
meals lying down.
Previous 10 1889 Colonel Murphv
was one of the strongest and health.
TEST men known IN New York politics.
In that year he was serving his thlr.
teenth year in the Legislature the
last six AS a Senator He suffered dur
ing that winter from what he supposed
was Indigestion Later he learned
that he was suffering from an ulcer OF
the stomach. AZ the end of 60 days
his stomach was pronounced healed.
In the meantime Colonel Murphy
had almost died of starvation. From
a portly man OF 225 pounds he had
wasted until he weighed barely 100.
He was taken to Saratoga, where in
10, IT was found that he was suffer
ing from structure of the oesophagus.
On December Is il was decided TO
operate on him and DR. Weir per
formed the operation of gastrostomy
upon him. His case was watched
with the most intense interest by the
most eminent surgeons on both sides
of the water Few believed that the
cure could be permanent pr. Weir
who was naturally more interested
than anybody else watched the case
jealousy and attended TO the feeding
of the patient personally. Hhe decid
ed on what kind of food Colonel Muir.
ply should receive, and finally made
out a list which has been followed
ever since.
Colonel Murphy receives into his
stomach meat eggs bread, milk and
other nourshing foods, but they are
all one to him. Everything Is thor.
oughly cooked crushed to pulp and
mixed and strained until it is about
the consistency OF heavy conHomme
Then it is pumped into Colonel Muir
phys stomach with pump specially
designed and manufactured for the
purpose For a year or two after this
operation was performed on Colonel
the physicians tried 20 operate
upon the structure in his throat but
without success. 1t was finally de
clded that the patient health would be
better preserved by continuing the
treatment he had been receiving for
several years.
70 al appearances Col Murphy r.
today in good health. He goes regu-
larly to the Board Of Health at Fifty
fifth street and Sixth avenue and dur
ing the morning hours attends TO the
business Of the office he holds To n
stranger nothing can be noted about
Colonel Murphy which would lead one
70 suppose that he took his meals In
way different from the rest Of man.
kind, and IT. is only his intimates who
know Of the narrow escape he had from
death and from which the operation
Of gastrostomy saved him,-New
York Life