The Glenwood post., 1919-06-21
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vision of physicG' .reconstrustion b
state what is to be the future work Of
the Aids in occupational therapy IN the
wards of military hospitals. It u now
able to speak In terms of accomplish
ment and say what they ara doing both
in the United States and in Europe.
There are now over 1900 women in
this service. Seventy four Of these are
on duty in France, and nearly two hun
dred more were under orders and ready
to sail for France, but received their
transfer to domestic duty when the
armistice was signed.
Perhaps the personal story of one Of
the surgeons, who has just returned
from France, will give more Of an ides
Of the work Of these women than any
other description could do. He de-
scribes most vividly his surprise one
morning in the midst Of an inspection
of hundreds of arm and leg cases in q
base hospital, when four women pre-
sented themselves in uniforms and an
nounced that they were Reconstruc-
tion Aids in Occupational Therapy."
occupational therapy, what's
thati" said the major.
Gwen show you," said the girls
And with NO material at all, their
box of supplies had disappeared en-
route and has never been seen sin 20,
they began their work. Before their
arrival the problem of keping tn" sol
diers contented had been very difficult.
There they lay, by dozens, Fifteen in
a row, with compound fractures of the
femur) having told all the stories that
they knew, having read all the books
that they could get, and having been
reduced to shooting craps from one bed
to another to pass the time. The aids
begged old scraps Of gauze left from
bandages, dyes from the chemical lab.
oratories, burlap that had come wrapped
around the hospital beds; and, on
wooden frames, which they made them
selves, the boys were soon occupied
hooking rugs. So great was the popu-
larity Of the rugs that they could not
make them fast enough, and they were
usually sold, provided the boys would
consent to part with them, before they
had hardly been started. From making
rugs, the boys passed on to wood carv-
ing, basket making, and the othar
crafts, as soon as material could be de-
vised. The morale Of the wards was
changed from that of discouragement
| and homesickness to that of cheerful
ACTIVITY, which exercised not only their
stinened joints and muscles but their
minds a. well.
"Thus," the major concluded,
"When saw. those aids for the first
time, I did not know what they were
for, but now I know I never intend to
have a Hospital without them"
From teaching the lighter crafts suit
able for bed patients, the aids have
been requested to direct porch work,
shop work, the teaching of academic
subjects preparatory for civil service,
the teaching Of English to foreigners
and illiterates, the teaching Of tho
commercial subjects, bookkeeping, stem
ogrsphy, and accounting, and oven in
. few cases tho teaching of gardening,
poultry raising, and photography.
AZ one enthusiastic patient said,
"The education which I got in this
hospital is worth tho leg I Left BE-
hind"
There is still demand for aids, pro-
vided that they apply at once and are
ready for immediate service in any
hospital in the United States Since
the work will not continue indefinitely,
their services are needed without delay.
Here Is the chance for skilled crafts
women, and for women with academic
and professional training to pay their
final debt to the boys in the hospitals,
who were so ready TO sacrifice their al,
when they turned from civilians into
splendid soldiers. They must now face
the harder task of changing again from
soldiers and from hospital patients into
healthy, efficient civilians.
/