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  • Walter E. Dandy Letter 03/06/1912

    Baltimore, Md.

    March 6, 1912

    Dear Mother and Father,

    Another week passed and about half the year gone. Possibly even more as Dr. Cushing is going to England in June and may be gone all summer. Well everything is about as usual. Work is a little bit easier than it has been the first time since I came on.

    Am glad you are enjoying yourselves so well. I am sorry cannot give you any definite information about next year, I should like to stay here and may do so though it is a guess and hard to say. Cushing may want me to go to Harvard but that is guessing again.

    Well I did another operation yesterday. An epileptic boy, English by the way, who was deserted by his mother and father when 2 years old. He became a sailor and when at Buenes Aires, South America, fell 30 feet and struck back of his head. Since then he has been having epilepsy. The worst case I ever saw, 40-50 convulsions per day. He fell into hands of friends after being switched around helpless for 2 years. He was sent into the hospital and Dr. Cushing said there wasn't anything to be done for him and they were going to send him to an asylum. I told him I took an interest in the boy and wished he would try and see what he could do. He said well you can try it if you want to. I did and so far the boy is perfectly well, has not had another convulsion. If he should get well it would be a wonderful thing, something which is almost unknown.

    It is only 3 days now and while I feel good, am almost afraid to believe it, and hoping. I told Cushing he was doing well and he tried to throw cold water on me but I refuse to yield until shown. I don't think he has ever cured an epileptic. Everyone is astonished at the result so far. But it is too soon to crow. It was a very delicate operation in the most difficult part of the brain, where the largest vessels are present and the very smallest touch improperly placed or slip of the knife would have meant fatal bleeding. But slowly the thing cleared up without any bad effects. It took about 2 hours to free the adhesions which were clinging to the brain and which had to be very carefully separated. Had many an anxious moment, expecting at any time to stir up a haemorrhage which might be fatal. Of course it would look pretty bad for a beginner to have had any serious trouble, and fortunately it pulled out well.

    If the result is good, he may be more careful about letting me have any more cases, as it reflects a little on him. He did not expect when he gave me the case, to have me take any such chances as I did, but since he was not there, I went ahead on my own responsibility. I certainly hope the boy gets well. Something which is scarcely known to happen. And which I have never seen happen.

    Am going to try an experiment tomorrow which has never been done before on a human being. Am going to remove some water from a babys brain (a big head?baby with water on the brain) and put back some colored liquid in its place and see how long it takes to get out again. Trying to solve the problem on a human which I did last year on animals.

    The work is extremely interesting. Only one thing wrong and that is the grub which is fierce. Don't have time to go downtown very often.

    By the way we have one of the 400 so called for a patient and it is quite a treat to watch her. She is the daughter of some English duke, her sister is the duchess or something of the kind of some Englishman. Her husband is vice president of the Frisco, on the board of directors of the Katy, Pennsylvania, Rock Island, and a bunch more roads, owns the gas works of St. Louis, the street car lines of St. Louis and Milwaukee, extensive mines in Colorado, big insurance company of New York, etc. etc. They live in the finest residence of St. Louis half of the year and the rest in New York in the finest hotel there, and have a couple of summer residences, a half dozen maids, four or 5 automobiles etc. etc. Always travel in a private car on railroad.

    She came to Dr. Cushing for facial neuralgia or tic douloureux, and other imaginary ails. Senator Clarks wife and others visit her. She was not going to stay because there was no suite of rooms fine enough for her. She got the best and then bought a lot of furniture to fix it up, since she could not do any better. Got 10 or 12 extra fine pillows, new brass bed and thick velvet carpet etc. etc. And new silk pajamas every day etc. Always a tale of woe. Always sick, big. fat and flabby 225 lbs. Looks like the devil himself might look. She finally stayed. Day and night nurse and maids and maid to take care of daughter who has a suite of rooms in the finest hotel here.

    She became quite attached to me right away because she said I looked like her boy who died, the very picture of him. Wanted me to visit them, hear her daughter who is an excellent musician etc. Wants to take me out in the small foreign automobiles etc. All a lot of rot and a most striking contrast to someone too poor to get something to eat. Like the strikers of the Massachusetts woolen mills, though some sense and she has none. She is going to donate something to the hospital, she says, besides all her recently purchased furniture. She wants an operation and Dr. Cushing does not think it will help her and does not want to do it.

    She wants to stay a month and rest up well. She tires out and goes all to pieces and has to be assisted if she walks a couple of blocks. Pathetic as she can be. Well this is a lot of rot to talk about.…

    See where the coal strike is pretty effectual in England. Trusting you are in the very best of health as I am at present. I remain,

    Your loving son, Walter

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