The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-08-14

This war, particularly, has devel-
oped- maladies and wound complica-
lions undreamed of before. Shock
is not exactly new. In civilian hos
pitfalls it occurs after every opera
zion. But the wound shock Of this
war is new, and the doctors had TO
study it as a new manifestation.
Out Of many cases take the fol-
lowing: A soldier member of a
working party, laying telephone
wires one wet and muddy night, was
hit by the explosion of shell. He
was severely wounded, suffering a
compound fracture Of. one arm ana
some bad muscle decorations. HIS
comrades picked him up and hur-
ried him to the nearest dressing sta
| ton, but by the time he got there
his wounds looked like dead flesh.
There was no bleeding and the mans
pulse was still. - -g
We was conscious and mentally
bright. Hello, fellows" he called
out to those who worked over him,
and to- the surgeon he said >confi-
IDENTIFY: i've got a blighty, hayen'E
II" meaning a rest in hospital.
Even the surgeon thought so. me
case was bad, but the man seemed
dead. - '- -.@.
There was sergeant, a hard
working, conscientious man, loved by
his fellows. A piece Of shell got
/ him as he lay asleep at the foot or
a, dugout. Both feet were shattered.
Within ten minutes the surgeons had
the. man on the operating table, but
he was another case of shock. He
died while they were working over
him. ~
Shock has other ways of showing
itself. A soldier, very badly wound
ed in the chest and abdomen, was
treated in the advanced dressing
station, and as he appeared to be
normal in every way he was wrap
ped UP and sent in an ambulance to
the evacuation hospital. Within a
few hours after he arrived, and when
he was sleeping quietly, symptoms
Of shock appeared.
He sat up in bed struggling and
tearing at, the bandages which COW
cred his chest. "Air" he gasped. Il
must have air. / cannot breathe"
Nurses and doctors surrounded the
poor man trying to alleviate his in
tense agony. But they knew that
this "air hunger" as 1t is called, was
almost certainly a sign of rapidly
approaching death.
- Find Out Causes.
The doctors had to find out what
caused these conditions. They could
not tell by simply observing the
shocked men. Too many of them
died before much observation could
be made.
1t did not help the doctors to OBJ
serve that the blood pressure Of such
natients went down and that most OF
the blood in their bodies seemed to
disappear. Where did it disappear?
Nobody knew. The mems pulses
stopped, their wounds ceased to
bleed. Why? Why did they suffer
for this awful air hunger? What
relation had the low blood pressure
with the breathing capacity?
There was one way and one way
only for them to find out. They had
to anesthetize a great many guinea
pigs, rabbits and other small animals
and subject them, while unconscious,
to conditions as nearly as possible
identical with those under which the.
men had developed wound shock.
Then they examined every organ Of
the wounded animals, analysed their
blood, infinitely studied them, with
the result. that they know. If rot all
about wound shock, at. least some
LnlIlk. l. lDy AAAOH q = Ss~G NA~S~@
the causes and they are on the
track of the cure.
Reaction Strong.
They know. for example, that tre-
mendous changes take place in the
system following a battle. The men
po into action with their hearts
beating abnormally hard and high,
Thev are in state of intense ex-
element. When they are wounded
there occurs a sharp reaction, both
mental and physical partly because
OF the wound, partly because Of bad,
conditions which often precede go
ing over the top.
Our men behind the line, even
when they are exposed to occasional
shell fire, lead almost normal lives.
They eat and sleep and keep fairly
comfortable, even in bad weather.
But in the front trenches, it must
be admitted only the sublime cour-
age and devotion of the men en-.
ables them to endure with cheerful
courage their surroundings.
They have good food in the front
trenches, the men have told me. But
they are sometimes short Of water.
They sleep i'm constantly interrupted
snatches. They are wet to the skin
and sometimes very cold. They