THEY CARRIED HER HOME-A LIVING SKELETON

NZ Truth, Issue 1191, 27 September 1928, Page 1

THEY CARRIED HER HOME-A LIVING SKELETON

CO thirsty was baby Noeline as *^ she lay m a dying condition m the Christchurch hospital that she snatched frantically for succour at the bowl held by the clergyman who was called to the deathbed to baptise the child before she- passed into the Great Beyond. "Suffer little children. . . ." *

WAS baby Noeline, like Mrs. McKnight and Bruce Kellar, the victim of hospital routine and callous neglect? . , . The facts of this case are appalling m their seriousness and constitute yet another scathing indictment of the Christchurch hospital, m, which the child wasted away while her parents were kept m complete ignorance of her true condition. The death certificate disclosed that the infant died from malnutrition. * When the scandal came under "N.Z. Truth's" notice;''- the 1 .''special .Christcalled" on''^Mrs) r ''J'6nnstbn"' r 'a'fc'r(fier ; home' m Kirigsley Street, Sydenham. "Truth" will leave its readers to judge for themselves the merits of this grief- stricken woman's charge against the hospital staff. Her story will rend the heart of every mother m this country.' "1 am prepared, to swear before my God— op m any court of justice —that what I tell you is true beyond any possible doubt," was the statement with which Mrs. Johnston prefaced her story to "Truth." In this declaration she was supported by a neighbor, Mrs. Nelson, who was a constant counsellor and • comforter to the ; Johnstons throughout their hours of anguish and sorrow. ' The Christchurch hospital has been prominently m the spotlight of public criticism during the past nine months through the disclosures by "Truth" of the treatment meted out to Mrs. McKnight, who was : discharged with a fractured skull— only to be readmitted later m. time to die— and little Bruce Kellar, who was anaesthetised on a full stomach, and died from ' asphyxia. In, the case of baby Noeline, no warning was given the father 1 throughout the fifty-five days of his child's illness until the medical staff decreed that she could not live through the night. ,-,, •;■;.. ,■*••'"■■■■■. They; did not even trouble to tell him — while'he was waiting at the hospital to see a doctor, who was two hours late m keeping the. appointment — that his wife had been . sent f or, as his child was beyond'the aid of medical skill It was merely a coincidence that when. leaving the hospital m a state of disgust, he met his distracted wife, rushing to the institution m answer to a note that "baby is not so well tonight, and sister would like her mother to come along."

That Mrs. Johnson is a good and capable mother was m evidence m the three bonny children — well fed, well clad, and healthy— who played about on the front lawn as she unfolded the poignant story of her little girl's unhappy ejid.

She explained that although the infant's death tqok place m March last,

"CHE was a jiving skeleton, her ** bones were practically protruding through her skin and her buttocks were like raw beef." In^ this condition baby Noeline was found by her distracted mother, who charges the Christchurch hospital authorities with scandalous neglect of her infant daughter.

Infant's Pitiful Deathbed Efforts To Satisfy Thirst From Cistern Bowl

WAS BABY NOELINE THE VICTIM OF SHAMEFUL NEGLECT?

'i'SiiiiiiimimiiiMiimmiiiiiiijiiiiiiii'iN^ iiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimjiimtiTiiimiiiiiiiiiimim iiiimimimiiim i Him iiMiimiimiiiiimiiimimiiiiiiiimimiiiimmiiiiiiiii mi umiiiinttmimii mmmiiiii iimummmiiiimiiiiig | * 11 (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative.) .11 j| "IF MY CHILD IS TO DIE, she might as well die at home as here, where' she has been starved to death!" Thus || If Thomas W. Johnston, a distracted father, m defiance of the medical and nursing staff s at Christchurch hospital, when he removed || ft his infant daughter, Noeline Iris, from Ward 9, where, according to the allegations of the parents, the child was allowed to waste || || away to a living skeleton through lac\ of nourishment. ff II The unfortunate little mite entered the hospital a well-nourished, healthy babe, to receive treatment for a rash on the head, ||l 1 1 caused, m the opinion of the Plunket nurse, through over -nourishment by the richness of the mother's natural food. Yet, m the U[ !l course of fifty-five days, little Noeline, who had never been known to refuse her food, wasted away to skin and bone, until she || ff was forcibly removed by her father to his home. ' ( . ' |ji ft There, under skilled medical treatment and common-sense methods, the child was k e pt alive for two weeks, but her whole ||| ff constitution had been undermined and her life flickered out ... ■ • If ijiimiiimiiiiimiiimimiiimiimiimmiiiim™ «» p " "JfJ

both she and her husband had preferred to let their little one rest m peace rather than create any discussion which might disturb the happy ! memory they cherished of her. But, m the course of time their wounded hearts have healed to some extent and Mrs. Johnston now makes known the facts of the case m the hope, she says, that her child, will not have died m vain. She makes a plea for better treatment and better conditions for the patients, especially the helpless babes who cannot speak for themselves. "If 'Truth' can arouse public interest and demand the full publication of the hospital board's side of the case," said Mrs. Johnston, "It will perhaps serve to prevent a recurrence of such treatment . . . and we will rest happy m the knowledge that our sacrifice has . not been m vain," *; ; .i^ ; , ;; : littl^girt^^s^^iii^yl'.-eiigrlit weeks in' the. Chfistchurch" hospital," observed Mrs. Johnston, opening her narrative, "and I. challenge Dr. Fox, Matron Muir or anyone connected with the hospital to say that she received justice." Baby Noeline was born on March 9, 1927 — a healthy, normal, well-develop-ed child, weighing B% lbs. During the first four months of her life she made good progress and was so forward that at six months she was crawling around and could stand without support. , v About this time a slight ra,sh appeared on her head, though it did not seem to be serious and did not affect her health. She was still happy and contented, slept well and had a good appetite. ' . Mrs. Johnston, fortified with the experience of rearing three other healthy children, could not account for the rash and consulted the Plunket nurse, who endorsed the opinion of a prominent

Plunket Wisdom?

chemist that apparently the rash was not troubling the ' child, as she was bright and bonny, above the average weight for her age. The Plunket nurse, m her wisdom, declared that the natural milk the child was receiving from its mother was too rich and therefore the infant was being over-nourished. '. The child was consequently weaned, on the advice of the Plunket nurse, and Mrs. Johnston took her to Dr. Allison, a skin specialist, at the Christchurch hospital. He did not advise any change m diet, but prescribed a lotion and ointment 'to be applied to the affected parts. The baby was taken back m a fortnight and the doctor was thoroughly satisfied with her condition. He advised the mother to continue with the treatment. Just as the child began to improve, she contracted a severe cold, which clung to her till January. On the 19th of -that month she was examined by Dr. Swift at the Christchurch hospital. . In reply to the mother's query, Dr. Swift said the child was not suffering from pneumonia, but had a heavy cold and a temperature. He ordered her immediate admission to the hospital. "!f I had known as much about the hospital as I do now, the child would, never have spent half the time she did within its walls, for every day was a step nearer her grave," declared Noeline's mother. Mrs. Johnston made further comment upon the practice of the hospital authorities m declining to supply correct information regarding patients. .Visitors to the children's wards are admitted' only on Sunday afternoons. If anxious parents ring up during the week for information regarding their little ones, they haye to be content to swallow anything that is told them. Each of the fifty-five, days Mrs. Johnston telephoned, the same reply — "condition just the ■ same" — was received, yet the information leaked out later that the child lost four pounds m .weight within ten days of admission] ' • . ■•'■■■. Had the mother been informed of Noeline's true condition, she could have made provision for better treatment or drawn the attention of the medical superintendent to the case. • No. It suits the hospital authorities to cut short telephone inquiries with the stock phrase, but the death of baby Noeline has hastened the time when parents will demand correct information regarding their children. Not until this misguided policy of secrecy — apparently instilled into members of the nursing staff— ls

broken down, will anxious relatives be privileged to obtain the information which is rightly theirs. , \ Even on visiting days the mother of baby Noeline was unable to obtain the true facts concerning her child. ; One nurse, she says, would tell her that the child was feeding well and sleeping well; another that she was fretful, while the sister invariably stated that the child had to be forcibly fed. ' - "It was hard to know who was-tell-ing the truth,". declared the mother, 1 "but I was more and more convinced that her condition was not satisfactory, She looked thinner and weaker every

time we saw her." When Noeline had been m hospital four weeks, Mrs. Johnston interviewed the medical superintendent (Dr.

Fox) and expressed for the child's;*c6nclition.;' : •■»;.; '' Dr. Fox could offer no explanation! He said the baby's cold was practically better, her head had cleared'up nicely, but she was at a standstill/making no t e He WaTso informed the mother that a thorough medical examination of the child had revealed her to be perfectly sound, there being no trace of disease. According to the mother's statement, Dr. Fox said it was a mystery to him why the child was losing weight, as there was nothing to account for it. It Just seemed that, her food was,'doing her no good." The hospital authorities now have

Dogtfo's fyficmn

;the opportunity of answering the anguished mother's question: "Did my child get sufficient nourishment to enable her to put on weight? If not, does'not this explain the mysterious wasting?" The child was well nourished when she, entered the institution, she had been, proved free from disease'and had "almbst thrown off the complaint for whi<;h she had been admitted, "Truth", will now relate one of the jmost poignant incidents m the whole story. : Fearing .that the worst was to happen, with the shadow of death hovering, over their cherished one, the clis-

tracted parents called a clergyman to christen the child, so that — if she were taken — she would not pass' beyond the reach of the Chris-

was httle Noeline 'lfo2?l£'c^;ofW frantically snatched at the bowl held by the baptising clergyman and endeavored to drink its contents! The drpps of water which behep chee|^ were ,* d v raven. ous, incJicating to her heart- ■ >hro£ n parents the real cause of her approaching end. Continuing her pathetic story, Mrs,, Johnston said that she and her hus-' band saw—for the first ti: ie—Noeline %£*££»,<%&?* "* ■"•«»<*« «-If the method we saw is the one m general use," declared the bereaved

mother, "it is no wonder a baby is starved to death 1 m the hospital!" On this particular occasion, the child was m a dying condition and was not expected to live throughout the night. Observing Noeline's thirst, the mother drew the nurse's attention, but was informed that the baby could not possibly be thirsty. Yet, a few minutes before, the child had made desperate efforts to grasp the bowl from which she had been christened!

There must • surely be an answer to the mother's simple question: "Would a baby m a dying condition make desperate efforts to obtain a drink, for which it could not ask, unless it was extremely thirsty?"

When the nurse brought the drink m a feeding-cup, the child was lying on its back m a half- dazed condition. Mrs. Johnston swears that the nurse never attempted to pick up the child or even raise its head. ; ■ She< simply poured the liquid downthe baby's throat and— when^ Noeline coughed and half-choked — remarked with an air of self-satisfaction that the child was "obviously not thirsty." If the position is correctly stated — and Mrs. Johnston is placing the whole facts before the hospital board for their consideration — then the treatment meted out to this unfortunate mite is preposterous and demands an' immediate explanation x by the hospital authorities. One Sunday, when the mother observed that Noeline was very thin, the nurse replied that her face and hands were certainly thin, but her legs and body .were quite plump. A week or so later the parents were completely disillusioned on this point when they saw for themselves that the nurse's description of the child was far from correct. Her legs and body were actually m a

Could Only Moan

more wasted condition than her face and hands. It was on Sunday, March 11, that the anxious parents realised Noeline's dying condition. Yet each and every day of that week they had telephoned — to obtain the stock reply:, "Condition just the same!" Distracted for the welfare of her baby, Mrs. Johnston secured an audience with Dr. Swift and told him that Noeline was dying. "Who told you she is dying?" was his indignant query by way of answer. Mrs. Johnston replied that she didn't need any telling — she could see for herself. "Dr. Swift denied that baby was m anything like the condition I suggested," said Mrs. Johnston, "and that she was not much worse than when she was admitted. "He practically scoffed at me and told me I was making a fuss over nothing! "When I asked him if he thought she would do better at home or In the Karitane hospital, he replied: 'You leave her where she is; she is doing all right."' This was all the satisfaction Mrs. Johnston alleges she obtained from Dr. Swift, yet the following day she was sent for and Informed that her child would not live throughout the night. How do the hospital authorities reconcile this glaring inconsistency? Another piece of. priceless pandering to authority and routine was inflicted on the Johnstons the following day. Noeline's father was requested to call . -on Dr. Swift m the evening. He .did so, waiting — he says — from 7 o'clock until 9.10 p.m. before the doctor kept the appointment. While Johnston was at the hospital, his wife received a message through the Sydenham police . that her "chil.d, was not so well to-ni^ht and sister would like her to come along." Up till this time, the parents had never once been informed that their child's condition was serious; m fact, the reverse was the case. But "" with motherly intuition, Mrs. Johnston feared the worst; leaving her three children asleep . at home, she rushed to the hospital. On the way there she was surprised to. meet her husband, who had just left, the institution. Although he had been there over two hours, he was not informed that his wife had been sent for. ' . The following evening the griefstricken parents visited the hospital with only on© intention— that of re-,

moving their little Noeline to their own home.

"When I picked up the mite to dress her, I received the greatest shock m my life," Mrs. Johnston pitifully remarked, as she proceeded to describe the frightfully emaciated condition m which she found her child. "She was a living skeleton, her bones were practically sticking through her skin . . . and her buttocks were like raw beef. She must have bee.n shamefully neglected . . . and left with soiled clothes on for days. "I know there are a number of babies iivjhgsnital tb'be 'attended^^ t^butvtlier&: is iio exctfseH whatever for'lettirig any child get into the condition our little one was m." : , -i When Noeline arrived home, another doctor was called m; what he thought is better imagined than described. Even then, with the child's condition at a very low ebb, an examination failed to . identify any organic complaint. The diet prescribed by the doctor kept Noeline alive for a fortnight, but she was then beyond medical aid. "It was pitiful to watch our little mite taking her food when we got her home," Mrs. Johnston declared. "She ate and drank so ravenously that we could hardly satisfy her appetite, yet — a few days before — while she lay, m the Christchurch hospital, it was said that she had to be forced to eat her food. "I have heard a lot about the, sad plight of the stray waifs from London's slums, but I am certain that none of them 'was ever m a more starved condition that Noeline . . . "If she saw the other children with a cup, she would reach out m an agitated way, thinking it was food for her." • Some idea of the child's weakened condition can be gained from the fact that for a week after she was taken home, she could only moan, not having the strength to cry.. . Mrs. Johnston — who, from the appearance of her home and children, is a capable wife and mother — is convinced that had she taken Noeline home a week or two earlier, she would have been alive to-day. The only communication the Johnstons have received from the hospital board is a demand to pay the hospital account of £19/11/-, £2 of which was incurred m violet-ray treatment, administered to the child without the sanction of — or even reference to — the parents. Nothing ■' that is now said or done will restore baby Noeline to the vacant cot m the Johnston home, but — as the mother says — if it is possible to prevent a recurrence of such a pathetic case, then the infant's life will not have been sacrificed m vain.