Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-11-19
Doctors Agree That Creature
Removed From Weston
Child Was Alive
SUGGEST STRANGE SEA ANIMAL
Dr.. Drake Describes it as Weighing
More Than Two Pounds With Shell
Foot Long Like a Turtles and
Hair Four Inches Long Like Buff
faIo-Detaiis of Case.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican,
Des Moines, Nov. 19.-1he remark
able case of Stella Weston, the
young girl who died from an operation
for the removal of a strange object
from her stomach is thus officially
summarized by the attending physi-
clan:
Correct statement as regards the pc
culiar specimen taken from the stom-
ach Of Stella Watson, by surgical oper-
alton performed Monday morning Nov.
Z. 1904. by DR.. Joseph II. Drake, assist
ed by Drs. A. M. Linn and c. r. Hol-
loway.
stella Weston was fourteen years
old and small for her age. lived with
her parents at 1904 School street. The
child. while bright in mind has never
been strong and her parents have
known that she had stomach trouble
during the last eight years, and from
the history of the case it Is suspicioned
that the specimen in her stomach ex-
listed when she was born and has grad
ually grown as she has grown, until
the last six months it has grown more
rapidly. and the weight gave her more
distress, especially while walking.
"She has been treated by many ply
slcians for catarrh of the stomach, DIR.
w. G. Condit being the first to discover
the tumifaction in her stomach. about
nd viz
tion but on account of diversion in
opinion of physicians her parents did
not have the operation performed.
ION July "a, 1904, the child was taken
to DIR. Joseph H. Drake, 2201 Cottage
Grove avenue, who, after a careful ex-
animation, x-ray and otherwise. de-
cided that there was Il foreign body in
her stomach and advised an explora
tory incison to positively prove the
diagnosis, and thru the persistent
insistence of the child to have the oper-
alton performed. the parents consent
ed and during the preparatory stage
of the treatment by DIR. Drake, the
attending physician, as result of a
cathartic. she passed. per bowels. i'm
mense quantities Of hair, similar to her
own, very light in color. This was
accounted for by the ravenous hunger
of the child at all times. She was dis
covered eating her hair during the
night, her hair being very light, and
the hair on the specimen very dark
brown. not resembling each other in the
least.
"On Monday morning, November I.
De Drake called to his assistance Drs.
Linn and Holloway and the explora-
tory incision was made into the stom-
ach and the foreign body found. The
incision was enlarged and the speci-
men removed. The inner walls of the
stomach were found thick and spongy
and very dark in color The stomach
and abdominal cavities were cleansed
with saline solution and carefully
closed. The child revived from the
operation and was bright and cheer
full for about thirty hours when the
heart began to fail from collapse of
the -distended stomach, and at the
end of thirty-fo hours she died.
Description of the foreign body
found: Weight two pounds and two
ounces; length of shell, twelve and one
half inches Gas hard as turtle SHIELD;
circumference, eight and 'one-half
inches; hair all over; short hair COW
ering major portion of body; hair like
a buffalo, extending from the snout the
entire length Of back to tail, averaging
three to four inches in length. Body
curved the shape of the stomach.
November II, 1904, specimen exam
ined internally. We find coarse, mat
ted hair, dark brown, thru the
body; hair imbeded in hard glutinous
matter; size Of tube in body about five
eighths Of an inch in diameter, on the
principals of crane. / have decided
that there must have been some vege-
table or other life. The hair being
very coarse on the interior, much more
SO than on the exterior. but no sign of
having accumulated any hair swal-
lowed by the child since it's first forma-
ton but has apparently grown rapid
ly in the last eight years and has at
tracted largely from the vitality of the
child. 1t is positively certain that this
specimen is not an accumulation of