AMONG THE DISABLED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 15 May 1913, Page 5

AMONG THE DISABLED.

A SOJOURN IN THE MASTER TON HOSPITAL. (By J. H, Karby.)

Primitive instinct leads the sick or wounded savage to retire from the crowd and commit himself to seclusion, and seek the simple remedies that the woods provide. Civilised man's trained instinct leads him to provide refuges for sufferers; and one of the most encouraging features of modern progress is to be found in the number and efficiency of the hospitals in every British community. A comparison of the hospitals of New Zealand with those of other parts of the Empire. Ins 'led qualified observers and critics to declare that while new methods are continually coming in, the hospitals of the Dominion compare favourably with those in other places. Certainly, the institution of which Master ton is justly proud is worthy to be particularised; and every inmate bears testimony to the skill, conscientiously and earnestly exercised, of th© medical staff; to the unvarying and sympathetic attentions of the nursing staff, and to the mild but effective discipline. I need not refer to the scrupulous cleanliness and taste fill arrangement of the wards, as these axe common features of such institutions, more or less. Every inmate ia under constant care and supervision bountifully but discreetly fed, and hiis life submitted to a process of regulation, the excellence of which he often scarcely realises until, renewed and recreated, he' steps forth again into the world* Happy is he who, remembering th« wonders wrought by an ordered life, continues afterwards to submit* himself to a similar regimen and shuns the allurements to which he has so ofted yielded with disastrous consequences, before coming under this benign influence! In the seclusion of the institution, some interesting observations in psychology may often•be made. The la hour-waif who lias; worked all his days but who lias neglected his bodily welfare and wasted his life and hard-earned substance in fatal self-indulgence, bringing himself into- a prostrate begins to meditate while lying in the unaccustomed luxury of a good bed, and enjoying the soothing sensation of a clean skin. 'He is uncultured and little given to the expression of his more inner feelings, perhaps; but talking with a fellow-inmate, x he learns to collect his ideas, to review his past life, and to form resolutions for the future. Very touching-are some of these murmured meditations. One tells you he has wielded pick and shovel for half a century, Ihas followed the golden ignis fatuus in many lands, has braved death in the field, or wandered over the planet in the forecastle of a ship, and "here I am now," lie says with sorrowful bitterness. "A:h," he adds, "it's the drink that lias ruined me!" And then perhaps lie rashly resolves that he will be done with it forever.* Sometimes—with truer perception of his own debilitated moral and physical wndition,, the power, of his craving and the weakness of his will —he s.iyß in a tone of sorrowful resignation to what he Regards as inevitable, "but I suppose I shan't think like this when I'm about again among, ray mates!"

But the patients are by no means all "old stagers." There are youths who have been wisely sent here for the eradication of some incipient evil in the system, and the companionship of the ward is brightened by their presence. Indeed, the diversity of thecases, the variety of tastes, experiences and: ideas are in themselves a curative agency. When one sojourns in a hospital, especially in the convalescent stage, one is interested to observe and to meditate. To be alone is not neces•sarily to be lonely. Here, where one is so dependent on womanly; sympathy and deftness, one realises the moralsuperiority of woman, and does justice to her special intellectuality. A being.whose moral stature is so much greater than that of her so-called master, cannot be inferior in mentality. It ds not inferiority (a thousand times not) but diversity of gifts, that distinguishes woman from man. tor proof, note the brilliancy -of woman s intuitions, as compared with the more laboured orocess of male reasoning. The world scarcely realises what » great part female intuition is destined to olav in the domain of scientnfio research, as it already does in the more ordinary affairs of life. THE MEDICAL SUPERVISION.

It is to the honour of the medical profession that scientific ardour is so often coupled with a sympathetic faculty, and a self-sacrificing disposition, and that all these qualities are at the service of humanity, whether clad in piirple and fine linen, or in the tatters of waifdom. And Masterton furnishes 11 pleasing example of this, as well as a very gratifying spectacle of professional harmony. Nothing can exceed the vigilance, the kindness and the skill of the medical officers. Every case in which he js personally interested receives oareim attention and treatment. The honorary doctors are equally solicitous about their particular oases. And when occasionally a critical case piesents itself, all the "hakims" consult and co-operate in the effort to rescue the patient who has arrived at the borderland of life and death. The Sangrado jjethods of the past have been abandoned. To-day surgery is working wonders wvFli the complex human frame; bacteriology ha s enabled the practitioner to arrest tho progress of disease, and a truer perception of the supreme importance of the elementary principles of .sanitation, has simplified the work of tho doctor. Above all, one notes here, that the benignity of Mother Nature is recognised. The doctors gently assist Nature in cases where her operations liave been retarded by tho patient's misfortunes or imprudences. Not without a purpose—tlie sufferer bidden to lie still awhile. It is oil

order timt these weakened forces may have time to recuperate, or begin again their wonderful work. The .doctor's daily visit lis looked forward to with delight. He comes in wiUi a cheery word, an absence of professional ;Ui's, while all the time silently nob:ni; with eye and ear what is going (-11 in the weakened frame that claims his.attention. There is little "physicking," but there ds effective treatment. The nurses receive 'instructions, uid it is in the carrying on. of these that the cure consists. Operations are performed in the "tinaire" or operating room, usually about 7 a.m. Tho patient is screened off and quietly prepared for tho ordeal, so quietly indeed that other patients ire scarcely aware of what is going on, He is removed on a portal)!,' bed from the ward in the operating table. Here the anaesthetic 'is administered, the operation performed (ill presence of the Matron und members of the nursing .staff), and the patient just as silently restored to his lied in the ward, and from that moment until he has regained consciousness, :ind there is no longer any doubt of his doing Well, he is watched and tended with increasing care and devotion. DIET ANO DISCIPLINE.

The few far-seeing medieo s of. a day gone b.v, who used to tell an lous public and a conservative faculty that diet was more than drugs, and rest of -more value than heroic remedies, would be rewarded by a glimose at the interior of ;i modern hospital. Here are no writhing forms., no "well-shaken" mixtures, blisters, piasters, starvation and horror. Instead, siick people are stretched comfortably out in delightful rest in the shadow of which their forces regain themselves, and gradually under this spell, the healthy appetite returns. Nature reasserts herself, and the system is "toned up." This revolutionised system is now fed with an efficiency of nourishment, plain and so well cooked that all its succulence is conveyed to the eaters. How one is led to see the beauty of the simple life! The faded appetite which could scarcely be stimulated by pate do foie gras, stretches eagerly forward to boiled mutton and tapioca pudding. The lover of strong waters loses his abnormal desire, and finds comfort in milk. Under this treatment, the system regains tone, or as much of it as the disordered conditions allow. As we watch this gradual dispersion of the gradual humours of the body, and the dawning of a new day of health, then we realise the accuracy of the health philosophers—of dear old Montaigne, of Burton, of those other knowing and introspective students, of life. And, above all, we appreciate/ the supreme beauty of the Master's words, "Such harmony lis "in immortal souls, but wihile this muddy vesture of decay doth grossly close us in, we cannot bear it." The "muddy vesture of decay!" How muddy it is sometimes. Our follies weave it, just as much as accident sometimes tears at.

But discipline as well as diet is a curative agent. What is it, this almost impalpable wholly indefinable influence which we call discipline, and which is so admirable a feature of the Mastevton hospital economy? To the patient who ha, s known an ordered life, and who has intuitions and instinct towards the beuitiful and the orderly, it is a far'liar and agreeable atmosphere. To the nomad, the pauper (product of every sochl system) it is as a light, dazzling at first, but in time proving a mild and beneficent radiance, effecting for the mental organisation what treatment does for the physical nature. Here are oalmness, order, elegance, a harmony that silently but impressively bids the sojourner fashion his speech and his conduct accordingly, in that he shall present no spectacle of discord. Tho mind absorbs all thig unconsciously, and as unconsciously the patient submits to the influence of

THE NURSING STAFF

The factor of most importance is the nursing staff. Whoever has been (in one sens? fortunate enough to be) an inmate of the Mast_>rton Hospital can have but one feeling when he leaves—appreciative gratitude. For, if he has the intelligence of a mouse, he realises how much his cure is duo to nursing—and he remembers that "the nursing he enjoyed at this institution, was inspired by both intelligence and sympathy of the highest order. The new patient has a shrewd glance bestowed upon him by the Matron, a lady of unmistakable mentality, whose glance is a searchlight, and the lady passes silently' on, leaving her well-trained officers to deal with uie case by prescribed rules. A Sister extracts •from t-ha patient all that needs to be known about him, while subordinate nurses busy themselves in preparing a bed for him, and preparing him I'or admission. Then the screens ar? quickly placed round him, and he lies in an extemporised room, shielded from observation till tli? medical officer lias examined him and given directions as to his case. Henceforward,

all depends upon the nurses, who faithfully carry out the prescribed treatment, which is no merely mechanical -prooass. The patient is watched, his varying temperature noted, his symptoms observed, and bis wants anticipated. And the influence, the soothing influence, of deft hands, of gentle voices, of quiet movement, and of the general air o.i vigilanoi and refinement cannot be exaggerated. A strenuous life is that of a nurse —interesting, deeply interesting it proves to some who have embraced the career; hut full of disagreeable duties and incidents, that only a devoted mind can make light of. The nurse is ever fac to face with suffering and this, one would think, would darken their general outlook and make them melancholy or morose. Yet it does neither, the cheerful disposition, tlu> sense of physical fitness (which must always be part of a nurse's equipment), perhaps too the exaltation which the spectacle of dependence produces—added to the natural refinement of the nurse herself (for the ideal nurse comes from a refined home) all combine to make her cheerful and eminently sane. If she has discarded a lot of false sentiment with ignorance, she has acquired an intelligence and a power of appreciation tnat are admirabl 3 elements of character.

ißut this paper has run to an inordinate length, i/ooking over it, J find I have omitted many things that 1 would have said had the exigencies of space permitted. I have endeavoured to pla.ee on record my appreciation of the conduct, of .an institution, as founded upon my personal experience. And indeed, though gladly exchanging "the seclusion of the hospital ward for the stir of the outer world, and while aigain buckling on the harness of life, one looks back with a sense of privation to the pleasant hours of convalescence. I hear again the murmur of subdued voices, the story that eacn sufferer pours forth, of the joys and sorrows and adventures, of .the glorias and the mistakes that made up the drama of his life. I remember with a strange pain, tlve intervals of thought and reminiscence, when my own mind travelled back into far off and forgotten scenes, and conjured up ' visions long since vanished, of joy and beauty, and light and marked my own stumbling, blind, and blundering progress along the path. The voices, the faces, the scenes of the past come back in sickness, and you experience again the "sweet sorrow" which attends parting. And I recall my fellow-sufferers, each with liis episode of disablement —and pleasant companionship—in which we lont sight of our pains and sorrows, and dared to look forward with chasten °d hope to being once again fit for the fray. May they each go forth ire l stored, and may each one's path be smoother, in the_ light of the ience gained during our stay within the walls of the Masterton Hospital. May the institution, its medical officer, matron, nurses and staff generally enjoy the esteem and regard that their devotion entitles them to.