Imperial Valley press., 1923-08-02
Continued from page ~

as WneH lne laSt 0l1lCldl DullcIll
was issued, shortly before ) p. m
yesterday. This bulletin said Mr.
Harding was resting comfortably
after a restless day and that tn,
lung condition was slightly improv
ed.
Begin Long Vigil
The physicians settled down to
day to what promised to be long
period of vigilance over their pa
ticnt. Lieutenant Commander j. T
Boone remained with him during
the night.
While all indications furnished
by Mr.. Harding s condition pointed
to uninterrupted progress toward
complete recovery, his doctors
headed by Sawyer, warned that
cups and downs undoubtedly
would occur and that some days the
j president might not be so well
Even at the best, Sawyer en-
! phasizcd, the path to recovery will
be slow and Mr.. Harding will for
some days to come continue to be
/ very sick man.
"There will be many days,
said Sawyer early this morning,
just before he went to bed, "whcn
there will be no big news on the
! president S condition There will be
days when there will be no appar-
ent change or only Il very slight
change. We have now settled down
to the slow, gradual, and we hope,
uninterrupted process of rebuilding
the exhausted system of our patient
| will say to you what | said to
him-that things are so much better
than they might have been, that
we all have cause for the deepest
thankfulness.
Consultations To Continue
For the present, at least, the
twice daily consultations of doctors
will continue. A little later, when
the president s progress seems to
warrant it, some of the doctors
may discontinue their attendance,
merely standing by to lend their
aid if it is again needed.
DR.. Sawyer and his colleagues
have been careful and will continue
to avoid making definite predic-
tions concerning the probable time
of any particular development in
the ease, such as the abandonment
of the two consultations.
The immediate present is all that
the doctors dare speak of in terms
of certainty, Sawyer made plain in
one of his frank talks about the
case. No matter how skilled he
said, no medical man can foretell at
what hour or what day Mr.. Harding
can be considered to have passed
definitely out of danger. There is
danger so long as the president re-
mains subject to any complications,
no matter how slight. These COM
! plications which are common to all
! sick persons, DR.. Sawyer said, might
include anything from an liberated
| tooth to nervousness or Indigestion.
| Such developments, he explained,
would be dangerous only in the
sense that they would constitute
"danger signals'' warning the
| doctors that there was some inter
! ruption in the march towards recoy-
cry.
Complications Certain
Facing the almost certain pros
pect that some slight complications
| or "side shows as Sawyer called
them, would occur, the doctors all
said it would be the height of alb
surdity for them to try to set a
date when it would probably be
safe to move Mr. Harding to Wash
ington. They were impatient over
Published report that he might
leave San Francisco Sunday. That
report apparently was garbled re-
production of a statement made bv
DIR. Sawyer that Mr.. Harding asked
him Wednesday whether it would
be possible to "start home about
Sunday" Sawyer said he told the
president it would be going too
far to make that prediction.
Mr.. Harding is resigned to a slow
convalescence and is giving his
doctors the very great assistance of
his patience. He feels he has been
| fortunate, Sawyer SAID, lin coming
safely through very severe
| Storm
The sick room program from to-
day on will be the routine of any
/ convalescent who must be watched
closely to guard against setbacks.
The physicians have definite
task, which is divided into several
| parts. These include:
Building up of the president s
strength by increasing the power of
his now enfeebled digestive appar-
atus to assimilate food.
Keeping the system at work
/ throwing off poisons.
Insuring the patient a maximum
of rest and comfort so that his ex,
hausted state will be brought to an
/ end.
VITALITY AT Low EBB
The first attempt yesterday to in
/ -----------------
! ,-ac onI +bo E'ny Dnh rnt