The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-10
HELP FOR THE Invalid
sY MARGARET {. sANGsTER.
ny THE invalid lido not mean the
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behalf doctors and nurses are in
attendance. and who for the time mo-
nOpolizes the attention Of the entire
household. \ grave attack of disease
such as pleurisy. pneumonia or
typhoid. is a thing 10 be met and fought
with the courage, perSistcncy and re-
source Of the latest medical skill, and
with the continual vigilance of the very
best and most Intelligent nursing.
When such an illness invades homo
it is turned at once into a silent but
energetic battlefield and the campaign
is not over until the patient is fairly
convalescent and pronounced out of
danger.
IL any one of a dozen houses that
stand on a village street. or are closely
crowded in baTTack-like cOntiguity OF
the town. there may be a chronic In
valid. This person may be young or
old. It seems a little sadder If he or she
happen to be young, than IL inValidism
has laid its whitening spell upon vital
itV when the sands are almost run
from the hour glass. Still there are
young old people and old young people,
and a sunny temperament may triumph
over feebleness even when the Invalid
is beyond three score years and ten.
On the other hand, q mOrOSe, fretful
and disagreeable disposition viii make
its pOsseSsOr a tyTant although she may
be not much beyond the tWcnJies. some
months ago one of the monthly mag
aZines published an amusing story of
u woman whose illness. partly real and
partly fancied, had made her look Older
than the mother her caprices We're fast
wearing out. and had transformed her
into a creature not unlike a flend. II
any of US are really invalids and cannot
help ourselves we may as well make up
our minds 10 the inevitable and ntO
quarrel with fate or repine at the vii!
of God. As for our friends, We may be
sure that If We are lovable they will be
loving, if we are serene and even tenn
pered they will find our company toler-
able, and that they VIII try 10 make our
handicap as light as possible.
An invalids room should be warm in
winter and cool in summer. AT this
season il should be so situated that the
sunshine Will food it. and there should
be some green things growing, or a
Towering plant or two to give IL that
impression of life and health which is
cordial and tonic to a sufferer. Its
walls should be painted or papered I'm a
soft neutral tint. and there should not
be too many pictures. Nothing is more
irritating 10 nerves that are ajar than
a wall paper in disCOrdant and inhar-
mOuiOus tones with a set pattern that
repeats itself over and over. The in
valid sitting in her chair or laying on
her bed begins TO count the rOsebuds
or the geometric squares and counts on.
till the dreary iteration makes her half
beside herself.
Everything about an invalid's room
ought 10 be keyed TO an ideal of rest.
The furniture should not be crowded
in the room, nor is a superfiuOus
amount of it at all desirable. A table
beside the bed large enough to hold
candle and candlestick. a book or two,
not too large or too heavy for easy
handling, and if necessary, a bottle of
salts or soothing drops is a great con-
Venience. Let me add here that unless
absolutely necessary medicines, pills.
pOtions and prescriptions Of every va
riety should he kept out of sight. II is
not we'll FOR an invalid to have the look
and the odor of medicine forever thrust
on the attention.
Whenever an invalid is able TO en-
gage in light tasks. such as knitting.
making patchwork, helping a child with
A puZZling lesson, or any other Occu-
patton that is not too taxing, the ennui
of the situation will be greatly lessened.
Idlcness and folded hands are terribly
fatiguing One would better get a lit
Tie overtired from attempting some
thing perhaps a bit beyond her strength
than be tired out because there has
been nothing 10 do. one of the Weariest
experiences Of inYalidism comes from
being laid aside. seeing the procession
40 by, and realizing that one is out of
il.
II the invalid is fond OF music the
door Of the room may be set open 50
that she may not lose the strains of
violin or piano when a player is in the
house. For many years & woman once
bFiHiianT q bloom. Law
chained 10 a couch. unable 10 move
hand or foot cared for by a devoted
husband and by nurses who relieved
one another. her mind all the time
Splend.dly dominant over her attenu-
ated frame. and her tortured nerves.
one thing she was always able 10 en-
Joy, and that was music. So never a
day passed that music was not heard
in her chamber. the door set wide that
the performer on an instrument or the
singer in the drawing room below
might cheer her with the numbers she
loved. Her room was a bower Of
beauty and a dream of harmony i'm tint
ana adOTnment, and il was 50 placed
that only sweet sounds ever entered it.
Another invald's chamber was diff
fereuJ from this. For tt had no luxury.
and was bare 10 austcritv. II was i'm
"a home of poverty The diVan on which
The invalid spent her daylight hours
Was near a window which commanded
q view of a busy street. This woman
was also able Co hear music, and "a
canary sang for her III IT'S cage and
sometimes she heard a street piano or
ana organ as wandering minstrel
passed the door below.
Every invalid cannot listen 10 music.
There are many 10 whom it would be
torment rather than pleasure. When
this Is the case every sound should be
huShed and children taught 10 tread
lightly when they walk by the closed
door. AT first. when one thinks OF II. 70
seems rather hardship that children
should be required 10 moderate their
innocent glee and rcpress their spirits
in the season of life when joy is nat
Ural and should be unchecked and yet
iu IS not bad training in that gentle
ness and Unselhshness which viii make
them lovelieg BY and by.
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Always before an invalid should be
held the hope Of getting well. \ ply
Sician once said TO me: 1T is the ma
ture of disease 10 get WE'LL Pain wears
itself out IN time. one need not, and
indeed one should not make up her
mind that she is 20 be always i'm the
clutches of some maiady which has her
I'm a relentless grasp for the moment
The grasp may relax. Some happy turn
Of affairs may bring back health. Men
and women today are taking hold of
life and work with courage and ability
who for years were able to do little ex-
Cept sit still and be cared for.
Always expect TO get well. Do not
consider your iBValids room a prison
cell. bur look at il rather as a way sta
ton on the road. where you are, not
withstanding delays, To enjoy yourself
Ia a certain extent, and where YOU may
occasionally touch hands with fellow
passengers who are waiting for train.
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