Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1952-07-08

lCK COulu i've WIldt we
gradually learned came out in
SnatcheS of conversation DUR
ing the four hours we spent
with Gertrude. First we wait
ed nearly an hour for the am
bulance then we had the
hours ride back to Kowloon
with Gertrude in the ambu-
lance, the ride across the
ferry, the ride up to the peak
and the hospital, then we stay
ed with her about 80 minutes
until she was settled in.
Here is the story Ger
trude asked the authorities in
early August to let her tele-
graph Myrtle (Smith, in Hong
kong) for funds. At that time
she was down to 27,000 JMP
(about $1.35 in American cur
rency). They refused, although
they well knew her financial
plight. Their answer i'm effect,
when we see that you need
money, we'll let you tele-
graph" She had so little
money that she cut herself
down to one small bowl of
'hei-fan' (soft rice) per day!
To this was added sometimes
a bit of 'lo-bo'. This might
mean radish, turnip, pickle ?
So apparently that had been
her diet for August, Septem-
Der, October, November, De-
cember, January and part of
February! In early December
she fell-Gertrude said she
thought the fall was because
of malnutrition. Comparatively
recently, / do not know
whether it was late December
or January, she dragged her
painful steps to the Foreign
Office to ask for permission
to telegraph for the 3 million
JMP (about $3.50 American
money! which she had origin
ally asked for last August,
Again she was refused. She
said it took her one hour to
drag myself each way to
that office.
Then came day in late
January when she could not
get up For two days Ger
trude said she lay in bed with
not even her customary one
bowl of soft rice. On the after
noon of the third day, she
finally wrote a letter to the
Foreign Office You
have refused for months to let
me ask Hongkeng for money.
Now / have nearly starved to
death. am about to die. l can
not get out of bed. l do not
think the Nanchang Municipal
Government would want me
to die here"
Case Desperate
After the authorities receive
hat letter, they sent two me
rom the Foreign Affairs Burea
yho saw Immediately how serio,
he situation was and approved II
of the telegram to Hon,
long. BY this time it had becon
pparent that the case was despe
te and that she must be hospita
zed, but the hospital would n,
ccept her unless the money
'ay for her was available. SO ;
asst Christian friends dared
peak to the authorities on hi
ehalf. The wife of her formt
ook apparently decided to ris
he displeasure of the authoriti,
'ecause of her connection wit
he "Imperialists" and demande
hat Gertrude be cared for an
hat the money should be borrow
d from the church. Finally, ju,
week before her arrival in Hons
long, Gertrude was at last az
1itted to the hospital at Nanchan
BY this time, of course, 1t w;
much too late to do anything bl
ttempt to ease the almost I'll
'earable pain from which she ha
uttered for months. For in add
ion to the pangs of starvatio
here was another, more dreadfl
md excruciating pain-that of til
ancer with which Gertrude's bod
vas filled. 1t had first manifesto
tself some nine months earle
when a growth had appeared on h,
houlder. Gertrude had had tn
emoved, and the doctor had to-
Ter that it was not malignant. B,
had been, and during those no
ible months of slow starvatiC
he cancer had been growing wit
desperate certainty until tas IL
loctors in the Hongkong hospitl
we're finally able to ascertain) ;
he time of her fall and what ST
to be broken hip eau
d by malnutrition, the bone ha
ctually been partially eaten ava
nd later, at the time she coul
lot get up, the dreadful growt
,ad iuvadad fha liver and ar