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Fought To Keep Out Of Hospital

Fought To Keep Out Of Hospital image
Parent Issue
Day
2
Month
October
Year
1903
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

A Peculiar Casein the Third Ward

Mother Broke Her Hip

And Lay for Days in a Stupor Without Medical Aid- Daughter Bound She Should Not Get Hospital Aid

It was hard to get the free beds in the University hospitals for the city poor, and it sometimes seems hard to get them occupied by the people who should be there.

Mrs. Lamborn fell down in the kitchen of her home on Felch Street either Tuesday or Wednesday night. Her husband fixes the date as Tuesday and the daughter as Wednesday. She suffered great pain and was given, according to the family, a half grain of morphine to ease the pain. Friday, at about 1 o'clock. Dr. E. K. Herdman, the city physician, was called in and found Mrs. Lamborn lying on a lounge in an unconscious state. It was impossible to waken her. A brief examination convinced him that her hip was probably dislocated and he left word to be called as soon as she awakened. Saturday at about 10 o'clock she aroused from her stupor and the doctor was again called. He advised immediate removal to the hospital and an ambulance was sent for as she was willing to go. When Dieterle arrived with his ambulance and they were lifting her to the stretcher the daughter, a big, husky girl, interfered and forced the mother back on the bed to which the doctor had previously transferred her. She insisted that the mother was not going to a hospital.

Later Saturday Poor Commissioner Sipley, Chief of Police Kelsey and Dr. Herdman again visited the house, as it was evident that the woman could not be treated at home. Dr. Morton had in the meantime called and repeated the injunction to take her to the hospital. Between the four of them consent was finally secured and another cali was made for the ambulance.

Sunday noon she was still under the influence of the opiate which had been administered before medical aid was called, as she had quickly dropped back into the stupor from which she had aroused. The doctors had given her no drug and could not understand how so little morphine could keep her under the influence such a length of lime. But Sunday afternoon a thorough examination was made and it was found that she had a bad fracture of the hip, which it took four doctors to reduce.

In the meantime the family is again raising a racket about her removal to the hospital. If she had not been removed she would have died and besides, the city could not have cared for her where she was without great expense. Mrs. Lamborn is 86 years of age and is a very large and fleshy woman. Dr. Herdman deserves great credit for securing these beds for the city poor and it would seem that he ought not to experience so much trouble in filling them with the patients for which they were designed.