1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



291 



only for all that are sick, but for everybody 

 else. 



The above is a rather long- preface, it is 

 true; but it is simply a preface to an ac- 

 count of some personal experiences I have 

 had of late. In fact, the above thoughts 

 had been considerably in my mind toward 

 the close of the year 1903. I think I will 

 choose for a heading to this talk, 



WHEN SHALL WE SEND FOR THE DOCTOR? 



On Christmas eve, when I returned from 

 our annual gathering- at our church, Mrs. 

 Root and I retired about as usual. She did 

 not go to the Sunday-school gathering on 

 Christmas eve with all the rest. About ten 

 o'clock she did not seem to be able to get 

 any sleep, and said she believed she was 

 going to have one of her attacks of pleurisy. 

 She has been subject to such attacks off and 

 on most of her life. In a short time the 

 pain became very much more acute than 

 usual, and she was suffering greatly. All 

 through the long night I begged to be per- 

 mitted to call a doctor, which I could easily 

 do by the use of the telephone. She object- 

 ed every time. Now, it would hardly be fair 

 to say that Mrs. Root does not believe in 

 doctors, for she does, and not only respects 

 but reverences the family physician when 

 he is a good man, as a doctor always ought 

 to be; but she has a theory that doctors are 

 called a good many times when there is no 

 particular need of it. She was so vehement 

 in declaring that she could manage the at- 

 tack without the help of any doctor, as she 

 had often done before, that no doctor was 

 called till next day in the afternoon; and 

 even then myself and the children were al- 

 most obliged to overrule her wishes in the 

 matter. The doctor said it was a very se- 

 vere attack of pleurisy, and was likely to 

 result in pleuro- pneumonia. When I told 

 him we urged her to call him at the first 

 attack he said something like this: 



"Mr. Root, if your house were on fire 

 would you wait half a day or more to see 

 whether the fire was going to do any harm? 

 or would you put it out when the blaze was 

 small?" 



Very likely the doctor was right in say- 

 ing that our procrastination was something 

 like letting the fire burn until it was well 

 under way. Mrs. Root and I have both 

 tried since that affair to see if we could de- 

 cide what brought on this sudden and se- 

 vere attack. The day before Christmas, 

 for a few hours it was warm and rainy. 

 She ventured across the street, without any 

 covering over her head, and with only a 

 light shawl; but this she has been doing all 

 her life — in fdct, she has always delighted 

 in showing the children how she could run 

 around outdoors bareheaded, and without 

 being bundled up (like your humble ser- 

 vant, for instance). Two days before the 

 attack she went with me in the auto, and 

 visited a sick relative, perhaps a mile from 

 home. While going with the wind we were 

 both quite comfortable; but the return trip 

 was against the wind. Neither of us was 



very warmly clad. On this account I hur- 

 ried home to get where it was warm. She 

 rode against the stiff south breeze, and was 

 pretty well chilled when we reached our 

 own warm rooms.* But she and I had often 

 had this same experience, and never before 

 felt any bad effects of it. The doctors say 

 that her general health must have been 

 poor about that time; but she and I feel posi- 

 tive she was in excellent health and spirits 

 until the attack. I do not know what 

 brought it on. 



Christmas came on Friday, and by Sun- 

 day night she was a very sick woman. 

 Thus far in our married life we have never 

 had any experience with a trained city 

 nurse; but just then all the children insist- 

 ed that mother should have the best help 

 that could be obtained. The nurse and 

 doctor did their best; but on Sunday night 

 the pneumonia had taken such complete 

 possession of her lungs that it was difficult 

 for her to breathe. I heard the nurse call- 

 ing through the telephone to the doctor to 

 hurry down as soon as possible — that the 

 patient's heart was acting very badly. 

 While the nurse was at the telephone I 

 slipped up to my wife's bedside and placed 

 my finger on her pulse, as I had been in the 

 habit of doing all along. The pulse was 

 very weak and irregular. Finally there 

 came a great throb; then three or four little 

 beats almost like the tick of a watch, irreg- 

 ular in time and varying greatly in force. 

 The doctor got there very quickly, and he 

 told me there was great danger. Unless 

 the heart could be quieted, she might not 

 live till morning. One of the best physi- 

 cians we knew of in Cleveland was sum- 

 moned by telephone. An extra nurse was 

 ordered, to be with the patient while the 

 regular nurse slept. Soon after I had test- 

 ed the pulse Mrs. Root looked up at me in- 

 quiringly. 



"Amos, what is all this commotion 

 about? " 



Now, I have never withheld anj' secrets 

 from Mrs. Root — at least not for years past; 

 and / know, if the rest of the world does 

 not, that she is cool and steady enough to 

 be told the truth without being disturbed or 

 frightened. Notwithstanding this, I did 

 not feel that it was my duty to tell her just 

 what the trouble was. While I debated 

 what answer I should make, I said, by way 

 of evasion: 



* I have been told that large numbers of people have 

 contracted severe colds, sometimes resulting in pneu- 

 monia, from riding in an open automobile during very 

 low temperatures The unusual rush of air, especially 

 ■when one goes against the wind, requires extn cloth- 

 ing and wraps ; and dealers in automobile supplies are 

 already advertising garments made specially for win- 

 ter automobling. Why, even during the month of 

 July, on that trip through Michigan last summer, I 

 was obliged to wear a summer overcoat a great part of 

 the time, especially when we were running against the 

 wind ; and a few times I was obliged to exchange my 

 summer cap tor the fur cap I wear in winter. The 

 rush of air is all right ; but elderly people shouH re- 

 member to keep well clothed. When I was bundled 

 up with a fur cap and overcoat, twenty-year-old Huber 

 wa« happy in his shirtsleeves, without any collar or 

 necktie. 



