Evening star., 1951-11-22
Five Ailments Causing
Retirement Of Barrett
lAre Not Uncommon

common ailments ~ bronchitis
arthritis. sinus trouble. high bloot
Ipressure and rheumatism.
! They have entitled him to al
80 per cent disability rating. il
the opinion Of an examing physi
clans board. The police chic
will leave Office on half pay Nov
ember 30.
! The list Of ailments was dis.
closed late yesterday at the Dis.
trict Building, Commissioner F
Joseph Donohue said 1t was mad,
public with Mai. Barrett's per.
mission.
Many adults suffer from tn,
same ailments. They are fire.
quently the grounds of retire.
ment. according to physicians
But in many cases they are no
severe enough to prevent norma
activity.
| The list was released without
elaboration. DR.. G. Louis Weller
Ijr. surgeon on the examining
board, signed the diagnosis. HI
refused to comment on 1t today
Disability Votings Listed.
Here are the ailments, and the
disability ratings as listed by the
board:
Chronic bronchitis, fibrous type
30 per cent; fibrositis. left shoul.
der. 10 per cent; arthritis, cervical
with compression symptoms, II
per cent; chronic maxillary sinusi.
tbs. bilateral, 10 per cent, anc
apprehension. 20 per cent.
Despite the medical terminology
these ills, according to one leading
physician. are "all simple little
things" Here is what they amount
to, this physician said:
Chronic bronchitis means q
Chronic cough. which is associated
with a mild Inflammation of the
bronchial (air) tubes. The tern
Ifibrous-not used by some physi-
|cians-indicates it has existed Ions
Ienough for some of the tubes tc
have closed off. causing occasional
Ishortness of breath. But the clos
ing would be hard to detect. even
with X-rays. That part of the
diagnosis probably represents q
composite opinion Of what prob
ably does exist.
Fibrositis is sometimes callec
non-articular rheumatism. It |.
something like lumbago or a stiff
neck caused by a draft. Rated al
only 10 per cent, 1t probobly ISM
severe.
Neck, Joints Affected.
ArthritiS is familiar to many
people. In this case it affects the
neck joints. Calcium deposits
cause pressure around the small
canals through which the nerves
come from the spine. Pain results
This also appears not to be severe
At. Maj. Barrett's age-49-it il
mot very common. Almost every.
body has it later on.
Sinusitus means sinus trouble
inflammation in the nasal cavities
which can be mild or moderated,
serious. 1t is aggravated by smok-
ing, and Maj. Barrett is a heavy
smoker. 1t is a common ailment
in this area.
apprehension is high blood pres
sure. If it is not extreme, it il
not serious. If it we're serious, il
would be rated higher than 2(
per cent. But the pressure reading
was not disclosed. so an opinion is
almost impossible.
Rating Is Technical.
The 80 per cent total from these
five disability ratings does moi
mean Maj. Barrett is actually
four r-fifths disabled. 1t is simply
"a technical rating used by the
Police Department.
In fact. the physician questioned
by The Star stated that all five
disabilities don't amount to yer,
much" as far as the list itself
would indicate.
Il can't see any one of them
compatible with keeping a per-
son from working if he really
wants to work hard" the physi-
clan stated.
In some respects. he added. the
person would do better actually
to keep working. That applies
to the arthritis in particular, he
said.
This physician emphasized
however. that it was impossible
to judge the police chiefs condi-
ton accurately without actually
examining him. Specialists were
consulted by the examining board
in making its finding.
Maj. Barrett must reappear be-
fore the retiring board every two
years until he is SIS years old. He
will be paid $463.75 a month be-
ginning December and contin-
ulng as long as he lives-tax free.