The broad ax., 1925-03-07

Surgeons Room, John a. Andrew
Memorial Hospital Tuskegee Insti-
tute, Alabama guess you think that
is name enough to make any fellow
sick, but that i just exactly where ]
am, and I don't know when ! am 60
ing to get out Of this big name place;
and yet that always comes before the
end of time; you have got to be in
some big place, have some big named
disease Or the bugs get together and
out with the Doctor and his runner;
your friends look in your face and say
don't he look natural"
Here I am the third week now in
the bed, but this last week they have
been doing something to me. Here
tofore they have just been taking a
little speaking tube and listening, and
running it around over my chest and
listening at the bugs, and decided that
they are not telling the truth and thus
far they have outwitted them, but this
time we have had the bugniest bugs,
and they have kept them busy.
After nights sleep I opened my
eyes, the nurse came in, put a little
glass tasteless candy in my mouth, held
my arm like she thought I was going
to run away, then looked at her watch,
finally turned me loose and wrote
something on piece Of paper and
went on about her business. But there
is always a forerunner; John the Bap-
fist was said to be the forerunner Of
Jesus Christ; but there is woman's
face wreathed in smiles, as happy as
a June bug, and she is the forerunner
Of the doctor. ! don't know as have
ever seen such woman as Miss. Mary
E. Booth in all this world, and she is
the most womanest woman there is;
and when it comes to this nursing
business she belongs on the top shelf.
She is just plain nurse and not doctor.
She recognizes the doctor as chief and
she Is to help him in his work and
carry out strictly his orders; but she
has gotten to the place where she goes
ahead of the doctor This particular
morning she came in and looked at
me and smiled; did not have any
smiles to give back, but I gave her one
grin, and she asked me how / was
feeling. Then nurse came with a
tray full, / don't know what it was,
it was not something to eat, cause it
had bottles and bottles, and towels,
and little rags, and big rags, and she
put them down and went on about her
business, and then followed that doc
tor I wonder where in the hen
feathers they found this man; he is
DR., Eugene H. Dibble, and somebody
discovered him, and when they dis
covered him it was a real man, a doc
tor man, cutting man, man man,
and if had the time / would congrat-
ulate Tuskegee on having him. He
looked at me, went through an exam
nation and examined me, but he didn't
use that listening tube, and he said,
We'll, the big game is on today, /
have found it,
Miss Booth, viii have to use my
knife She said "When, Doctor?"
Fright away" Then she went and got
some more stuff, and some more and
he went away, and DR.. Benjamin T.
Wood came in ali dressed in white and
looked like he represented some kind
Of Priest or something; my mouth
was then about to jump out of my
heart, because l thought he was going
to pull some kind of ritual burial serv-
ice over me. He would not touch any
thing with his hands. Oh, I said, he
is just proud that's ali, because he's
got pretty hands; then Miss Booth put
some rubber gloves on his hands.
Then an old doctor came in who was
all dressed in white, and wondered
what in the hen feathers they are go
ing to do to me- He was a-holding
out his hands and put some rubber
gloves on him; then they handled
knives with forks or something; some
kind Of something to pick them up not
touching anything with the hands.
Then they put rubber on my bed; rub
Der sheets, white sheets and bed
sheets. Finally he stuck a needle in
me; I hollered, but he said wait q
minute" and it quit hurting. He had
the lights and getting around and fnal-
" saw him take bis knife III his hand,