The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-05-02

IT. 1 .other time 7 recall that dreadful fright
at a death overcoming was when little oaOy
died one night about o'clock Just before went
off duty: The orderly was at supper so the he@u
nurse suggested carry 1t down to the moreue'
when j got there the morgue closed. 1t was
getting dark and the baby heavy and rang
and rang but no one answered. Finally one OF the
doctors passed and offered open the door TOT me
and Telephone for the keeper had never seen the
Hlorgue before and when l. went IN and laid down
tho little dead body such unreasong terror came
over me that was sure if the door closed ana tae
doctor Left there alone in the darkness "oud
go mad | could understand the feelings OF the man
in Poc's tale of THE Pit and the Pendulum. who
watched the walls OF the pit gradually closing in on
him. / never welcomed any as i did the Keeper.
i guess he SIS still wondering what made that nurse
so cordial
But none of my experiences was horrible as
one Peggy had after she had been in training only
few months. There patient in her ward with
gastric trouble She was cured, but it seems that
during her illness her husband had neglected her.
She believed him unfaithfu and she became meian-
choly broodng over it. One day she left the ward TO
go to the bathroom; and she gone an unusu-
ally long time Peggy went look after her, think
ing possibly she had tainted.
The door of the bathroom raised few inches
from the floor to permit perfect circulation OF arr
Peggy saw tho woman's dress sticking out from
answer. She tried to open the door, but it seemed
to be locked Again Peggy called. Again no an.
swer: Then Peggy pushed against the door with
all her strength. 1t moved slowly back and when
she entered she found the her knees, a
towel tied around her neck. the other end fastened
to the top of the door The woman was not yet
quite dead, but all. attempts resuscitation were
unsuccessful and she died a few hours later.
Once L had funny kind of scare, at least it is
funny now 1 had delrious patient-pneumonia
case. / had TO leave the ward for minute and
when / came back this mans bed empty
looked all around and could not find him. There
was only the one door and he could not have gone
out of that without my seeing him The window
had not been touched. But where he?
frightened sick you can imagine. He had COM
pletely disappeared / looked everywhere, and fin
ally where do you think | found him? Crouching
underneath his bed.
There only one other case where played II
spys with patient A woman brought in with
scalp wound. Fhe womens and mems wards were
directly the corridor from each other and
had to attend TO something the other end OF the
corridor asked the orderly keep his eye on both
wards for minute. When got back the door OF
my ward was closed and had left IT open. / went
in looked my beds and found my new lady
gone A grand search ensued She was not to be
found, r. rushed to the orderly and discovered
him tight asleep, and sitting chair in the mems
ward was my patient, her coverings draped grace
fully about her, also asleep. She had evidently got
up and wandered about and. suddenly feeling tired
had taken the first chair she found and made her
SELF perfectly at home OF course got her back to
bed and she became wildly deirous. Then the ques-
ton arose to what do for her. Should / use
the medicine the doctor had left in of emer-
gency, or should l call him?
That is one of the most difficult matters night
has determine. In the daytime there is al
ways doctor but at night it is necessary for
her call the doctor specially for this case and
She wants first to determine whether it absolutely
demands his attention. When it is an unnecessary
summons the. doctors are always very gracious
about being aroused from their good sleep And be-
sides nurse does not want to be put down as an
alarmist. So she learn to recognize important
symptoms of change and those naturally incident to
the disease. Night duty in this way went far toward
teaching to have confidence in myself to keep my
head, be brave and self-contained. to think and
act promptly and be equal to all emergencies.
Even when | went straight home determined TO
be good could not always go sleep. All the
thousand and noises of the daytime stole in and
whispered and tormented me, mention the per-
sistcnt carts and trucks and hucksters' cries and
waiting organ grinders. The sunshine crept in, too,
and teased me- and lay with tight shut eyes but
wide awake revolving this niolclke existence and
my sorely tried sense of duty" had hard time be-
fore it finally conquered
One night / not feeling very well. and Maggie
a dear old Irish woman who had been about the hos
pital for years and knew about caring for the
i'll than most nurses, insisted upon sitting down
for while and "gettin bit of sleep. darlin','
while she looked after my patients. There were
of them very i'll except one old woman, and
thought she could be left for half hour and Mag
gle promised to wake up at the end Of that time
So she covered up and tucked me Ia, sn1 took
forty wnks.
Suddenly | started up, having feeling that had
oversight "fow's No. 50" I auScously asked
Maggie She's all right you round and go to
sleep again" But has she shown any changs7" I
insisted, being just little suspicious of Maggie's
nonchaant manner. Never you mind, you 60 10