New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-07-19
Twenty
Minutes
Difference
By WILLIAM HAMILTON OSBORNE
Of M V6iaosass

In a hospital in New York there were
two clever surgeons, each Of whom had
earned worldwide renown by his re-
markable specialized knowledge. Only
the most desperate cases, those reQuir-
ing intricate surgical knowledge. were
brought to them. 1t was noted by a
close observer Of these two men, that
the subjects operated on by n OF
them almost invariably succumbed-
while those operated on by the other
surgeon almost invariably survived.
The curious observer was q cOnfiden-
tial friend Of the resident physician
Of the hospital. He wanted to know.
"Just what" he queried, us the diff
ference between these two distinguish
ed operators"
1.-THE difference" returned the house
physician, "oh. about twenty minutes.
! should say"
There was the secret-twenty min
utes difference In the time Of perform
ing an operation. One man was deft.
swift, sure. The other was sure, but
slow. His too deliberate methods kept
the nervous system Of the patient un-
der too long a strain, and the system
frequently could not survive the shock.
The other man was like a flash-he cut
and slashed--in a jify he was through.
Through twenty minutes sooner than
his brother surgeon. That twenty min
utes meant life on the n hand-death
on the other.
II you've got a friend or relative in
the trenches, there is one picture that
keeps recurring to your mind. A thou
sand times you see this boy meeting In
slant death. Your young friend hasn't
one chance in ten thousand Of being
instantly killed. The number of bull
lets that find their mark In the brain.
or that pierce any vital organ. Is ex-
, tremely limited. The great loss Of life
! upon a battlefield does not result from
wounds Immediately fatal. The great
danger in this war as in all wars, Is
from wounds, not In themselves imme-
diately fatal, but wounds that become
serious only with the passage OF time.
Flesh wounds may be entirely super
fetal, and yet may become terribly
fatal. The victim may bleed to death,
he may suffer exposure, infection, fe-
yer, pneumonia-from his enforced ex-
pOsure - gangrene, modification -
death.
The Answer Is-Time.
In such a case, why does he live and
! get well, If he lives? Why does he die,
II he dies1 What is the difference?
The answer is, time. The answer may
be, twenty hours or twenty minutes.
Suppose 1t were possible to pick up
every wounded man the instant that
he's hit, to remove him swiftly from
the battlefield or the trench to a first
class hospital, to give him the immedi-
ate attention of nurses and surgeons.
If that picture were true, the fatalities
in our armies would be almost in
1nitesimal.
Look in the darker picture. Your
young friend goes owe the top in a big
allied drive. He is wounded in the
leg. 1t is a big drive-hundreds of
thousands of men engaged-hun-
dreds killed Observation-Disclosures up
on thousands suffering with wounds.
most of them superficial and SEEM
ingly u%nimportant. Your young
friend Is disabled but for the present
he feels no unusual discomfort. Shock
sustains him. He feels that very short
ly he will be picked up and taken In
to an emergency hospital where his leg
can be fixed up. He is disappointed
no M comes. Terrific pain sets in
with the Inflammation a heavy fever.
Twenty-f0ur hours 60 by. Finally he
Is picked up. He is rushed to a hos
pital as fast as possible, considering
the number Of ambulances. He reach
es the hospital. The nurse looks at
his leg-she calls a doctor. They both
shake their heads-they ought to have
had the man hours ago. All right. he
thinks to himself, they'll take care Of
him now. But ahead of him is a waiting
list of grooming, wounded men. There's
nothing for it, he's got to wait his turn.
Hours pass. The wounded come in by
dozens. Medical supplies give out
medicine gives out. Dressings give
out. There are not enough surgical in
struments to go around. Finally, with
your man at the height Of a raging fe-
yer they get to him and operate. TWEEN
ty hours before an operation would
have been unnecessary. They remove
the leg-a leg which had suffered a
superficial wound, not dangerous in
itself but which became dangerous
only with the passage Of time. But
gangrene already has set init is fol-
lowed by modification. The boy suf-
fers the tortures of the damned. He
dies-is glad to die.
Now, what's the answer Would
twenty minutes have saved him? Pos
sibIy. Would an hour and twenty
minutes have saved him? Quite likely.
| Would three hours and twenty minutes
have saved him3 Almost certainly,
yes. Five hours certainly would have
, saved him. He died because there was
a delay of hours or minutes-that's the
difference-time.
Your Money viii Help.
Now, what's the trOuble7 Where
does the fault lie? Why didn't they
get your man fixed up SO his life and
limb could be saved? Don't ask that
question of army doctors or army nur-
SEES, nor Red Cross doctors nor Red
Cross nurses, nor ambulance drivers
don't do 1t. II there's any swift, eff
Gent, capable corps Of workers on the
face of this earth, workers who are