The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1911-12-12

In an argument
with another younth. There was a
fight. Young Lawles was stabbed IN
the heart He was placed In an auto
mobile and brought several miles to a
hospital This took minutes and many
precious ones. When the patient was
finally placed on the operating table
he was still conscious. So startling
was the nature of the wound that the
Oldest internes paled when they saw
the extent Of the injury. Twelve
stitches were required to close the
cash through the heart muscles. The
patient lived. He was living when the
hospital authorities heard from him
last, and that was but short time
since His chance of life when he
was brought into the hospital were
less than nothing. 1t was a notable
case of the fooling Of death.
Men are hard to kill at times. Lit
tie Andrew Ceramic was accidentally
shot through the head. There was no
doubt that the ball had penetrated
the brain tissue. No one expected the
child to live. Ten years ago death
would have been more than certain.
But surgery, and especially brain sur
gerry, has made long leaps in that time.
These leaps have been forward. When
death did not ensue the eager in
ternes saw chance to save a life.
They did. Little Andrew Ceramic
was discharged from the hospital
few days ago. He was apparently on
the road to a complete recovery In
spite Of the mutilated brain tissue
that was plowed by the heavy bullet.
Death was tricked Of something that
seemed certainly his.
There Is wonderful vitality in most
human tissues. 1t does not want or
intend to die. 1t fights against disso-
luton with the inherited vigor that
may have come down through ten
thousand generations. In order to
fool death" the scientists have
learned to take advantage Of all these
things. They have trained the war
rior cells, the white blood corpuscles
to do things for them.
Thirty-three years was once the av-
erage life Of man. Wars, famines ana
.pestilences helped to cut down the
duration Of mans span. No one knows
now just how long the average life
Is any more. 1t Is changing all the
time by getting longer.
Death used to reach out through
appendicitis and claim his victims in
spite of the best efforts of the man
who fought back at him with the
scalpel. There was something wrong
This was remedied and the death rate
sank and continues to sink. The good
surgeon has fooled death so often II
appendicitis cases that 1t Is no longer
looked upon as a particularly serious
operation.
Before that time, in the days wher
the war hospitals were deadly beyond
the telling, an operation of any sor
in one Of these places was grave
They had not learned as yet how Il
round up, slay and utterly destroy thu
pus germs that we're creeping every
where over the unsterilized beds ant
planking,' clinging to the clothing O
the surgeon and floating In the hos
pital atmosphere. They do not exis
any more. They are guarded agains
and watched by every attendant, OF
orator and inferno of any hospital. Tn
death percentage from this cause ha
sunk low and is sinking lower 1t i
an everyday instance of puzzling, bal
fling and fooling death.
If you love life you do we'll to b
living now. You have a better chanc
to see more of 1t and live out NOR
years than you would have had If 20
had lived yesterday You will have
still better chance tomorrow, for som
scientist poking around with a micro
scope may find something today tina
will increase the average life span b
another decade. Some Metchnikoff
apt to go to a step further and sui
prise the secret of Icing few year
longer from outraged nature. 70
out OF a few years right now tina
you would had you lived In the day
when germs were unheard OF an
bleeding was the most sovereign rem
edy at the command Of the healer.
Edward Schneider, Hollander {
middle age, went up on a smokestac
to do some painting. He was workin
60 feet In the air when the scaffoldin
!, gave way. A rope, poorly fastened
J let knot slip and he fell the full
feet to the top Of a shed. and boun'
cd thence to the ground. 1t was a cas-
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