Leatha Coulston to Family - Apr. 16, 1934

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AARK Identifier
  • 20213770
Place of publication
  • Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China
Rights statement
  • In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Date Issued
  • 04-16-1934
Publication GeoCode
  • 40.76744,114.88644
Date created
  • 1934-04-16
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  • Transcription: Dear folks: Elmer is lying on the davenport. He is reading the Reader’s Digest. Christiansens take it and always pass it on to us. This is the end of a wild day. I wish I could say it was the end for the poor nurses. Each one of them have about fifteen patients to give treatments too tonight. They are only children and I feel sorry for them, but what can we do? We almost hate to tell you about our work, for we do not want to give the impression that we work so hard. We have sixty six patients in the hospital. Elmer took off three feet today and did a T.B. glands of the neck. He is a pretty tired boy tonight. Had four out-patients this a.m. He and Mr. Kuo vaccinated two hundred prisoners and had twenty one at the clinic and had thirty at the prisons. We have beds for about thirty patients. Last Thursday seventeen patients came in fifteen at one time. They are a fearful sight when they come in. Six of those fifteen soldiers were blind. Just neglect that’s all. The next question was where should we put the men? The nurses always look -2- to me to find a “fa tse.” First I stripped all the beds of extra bedding and mattress pads. Got the wash men busy. Got the ladies in the compound making quilts. Bye night time every man had a mattress pad, quilt pillow, towel tin can for sputum cup and last but not least a “BATH”. We put them on the floor in the ward. Since then we have added to the men until we have (nineteen ^20 now) patients on the floor in a ward 27 x 30 ft. Just wish you could see the ward. On Sabbath P.M. after dinner we took a walk. When we returned we found eleven more patients waiting for us. Some of them had their feet frozen, some had T.B., other influenza etc. Then what? I did my stripping bed stunt and brought the wrath of the soldiers on me, but it had to be done and of course the Chinese nurses fear and tremble for the soldiers. I took off all the quilt covers I could find and got the wash men busy and washed them. Saturday night We dried them in the furnace room and two women sewed quilts all night. By morning this batch were -3- all fixed up too. Last night after supper we went to Christiansens. On the way we met five more patients. Bye that time I was used to it, and it did not bother me. We put them up in the attic and gave them all soda mints last night. This A.M. I scurried around and hurried the wash men, and got the ladies busy at quilts again and tonight every man has a pad or straw tick pillow, quilt, towel and tin can. I call that a real feat of engineering don’t you? Yes and I went around with Elmer and transferred all the orders myself as Miss Semerova was too busy in the operating room. We only use sheets for first and second class patients. Tomorrow morning Elmer has to take off a man’s leg at the hip. That will be hard work. Our two nurses are both getting better. Mr. Ho’s temperature is still 100° tonight. Mrs. Ho came and also Miss Wei’s father. We did not expect Miss Wei to come through. Elmer is using 20 c.c. of merchur- ochrome intravenously and it brings -4- a temperature down from 105° to nearly normal over night. He has never used this treatment before. Received the enclosed letter from Elder Appel today. He certainly is a wonderful man! He is in the northwest to superintend building a new hospital there in Lanchow. It is beginning to warm up a little bit now although we still have our large stove burning. My new boy washes and irons beautifully. He cleans our bedroom and living room very well, but the bath room about drives me frantic. It “amuses” Elmer so to see me get down and look under the tub to see if it is clean. When I say it is dirty he asks me if it hurts me anywhere to have it that way. Mr. Cossentine is going to bring up our box from Shanghai. I must close for tonight. Thursday 6:30 P.M. We just finished supper. Elmer has gone to the hospital. We have not been very busy today, although we still have seventy one patients. When we get organized we can easily care for that many patients. Of course we do not give baths to third class patients. We are fortunate not to have to worry -5- about pay from those soldiers. The tailor is making my green linen dress now. Hope it satisfies me. He just finished a voile dress and it is so pretty. I want to be dressed up all the time at Tsing Tao, for we can go places and do things there. Nina sent me some prints, and they were very cheap prints and not pretty ^(am not using them in the Rose Garden quilts) at all. The prints you have sent have always been so pretty. I do not have enough yet for the rose garden quilts. Yesterday P.M. I went to see Mrs. Barrelsen. We get our milk from there. We do not even have to boil it as she cares for it herself. I like her very much. She lost a baby exactly as old as Chris and a girl ten years old in one night. They had smallpox. Christ would be quite a big boy by this time. The last couple of days have been quite warm. Perhaps we will not have many more dust storms. Goodbye until I write again. Love, Leatha. -6- Thursday evening: I am writing because I just don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve been going at such a terrific pace all day at such a terrific pace that I can’t stop, and so I am writing. This P.M. I went to clincs. Only had nine patients. Came home and helped get things lined up for the evening. We admitted a new patient with a gangrenous leg that will have to be cut off. Now if I was a surgeon I’d cut it off. Now I must wait until Elmer gets back. O, dear if I just could get someone to carry the nursing responsibility, how happy I would be. Here Miss Semerova comes and asks me if she can’t go to town, with not a nurse on the floor, only coolies. She just doesn’t know what responsibility is. Oriental trained nurses just cannot carry responsibility. Miss Li is far superior to our Russian nurse. We want to train her to be our supervisor here. She is the best nurse, and so reliable. I must go and see if Hsing Ling has pre- pared my bath, and then I guess I’ll read until bed time. -7- Friday noon: Am waiting for dinner. Another wild morning is past. A telegram came from Elmer saying he would return today. I do hope so, for that poor fellow needs to have his leg amputated today or tomorrow. O, if we were only near you so some of you good folks could give us a little help. Really I have to bear the whole responsibility alone of seeing that things are done. Sabbath A.M. O, how I wish Elmer was here. Yesterday at 5 P.M. I went to meet a train but it was only a soldier’s train. Then last night I went at 2 A.M. again only to be disappointed again. Just think of poor Elmer sitting in that terrible train all night. I’ve prayed for him, and have not had him out of my thoughts for even a minute. Then to add to all my burdens our first class medical student began hemorrhaging again and I’ve been with him since last night six o’clock until this a.m. four o’clock. The poor boy just pleaded with me not to leave him. He is only lacking a year of graduating, and so just for professional courtesy I had to stay. He was so thoughtful telling me I must get a wrap etc. that I felt -8- like I just must stay, so I did. This a.m. I thought surely Miss Semerova could relieve me of the responsibility at seven and I had to get up and call her. She never got there until eight o’clock, with not a soul on the floor but coolies. If she doesn’t snap into it pretty soon something is going to happen. Now I ought to sleep but am too tired. Please don’t think I am grumbling for I am not, but it relieves a lot to tell some- one else. I went over to the hospital just a few minutes ago and those awful leg fracture cases with worms begged me to do the dressing myself again this a.m. Well, I can’t do it. I’ve never seen such messes in all the days of my life. Then the fellow with the peritoneal abcess is going bad. Feces coming out through his wound, and I’m sure it is my fault. He was fine until night before last when I gave him a gas enema and I’m afraid it ruptured the sac that had been formed closing off the intestines. He is going to die now I know. Well the Lord knows I did the best I knew. The trouble with these patients is they have their folks bring in all sorts -9- of “stuff” to eat. We tell them to eat only liquids but they always want to be chewing on something hard, so I found all sorts of food in his bedside table. Now if you can try and imagine a ward any worse than one with those two broken legs with maggots and pus; the man with a leg all black with gangrene, and the man with fecal matter coming from his wound. Now I guess I’ll go to sleep praying that I have a happy surprise in the form of Elmer. Love, Leatha. -10- Now I have the thing started to get Elmer here. Mr. Zü just sent a letter to the General in Hsüan Hua saying that Elmer can go on any army train that is coming through. ^Has his “chap” on it ∨ Now I am sending Hsing Ling on the one o’clock army train to get this letter to Elmer and to get him through. I’ll let you know later how it all works out. Sunday: Well poor tired Elmer is sleeping. I just came home from clinic. I will let him write you his experiences. Last night after sleeping off and on during the day I decided to get dressed, and just as I was finished dressing I heard the train. I tore down to the station by leaps and bounds, after Mr. Liu said he saw Elmer on the train. Well when I got there Elmer was just getting off the train. Never shall I forget how he looked. He could hardly stand up from wear- iness, his white uniform was black, and he had several days crop of whiskers. Uusually he walks with such a spring to his step. Really I cannot describe his appearance to you. He looked so worn and haggard, as if he had been in a dungeon for months. Well I am so happy he is back. He bathed, shaved and ate and looked somewhat differently, but …
Abstract
  • Leatha to folks. 1934 April 16, Kalgan, Chahar [China]. 13 pp. [Written over many days] -- Elmer is lying on the davenport read the Reader’s Digest. Been a very busy day. Have 66 patients in the hospital. Elmer amputated three feet, vaccinated two hundred prisoners, had twenty one patients at the clinic, and neck gland biopsy. Last Thursday fifteen patients came in at the same time. Six of the fifteen were blind. Had to strip all the beds of extra bedding, wash such, make quilts. By night time every man had a mattress pad, quilt pillow, etc. Now have nineteen patients on the floor in the ward. Sabbath, after taking a walk, returned to find eleven more patients waiting. Last night had to put five more patients in the attic. Only first and second class patients get sheets. Received a letter from Elder Appel who is supervising the building of a new hospital in Lanchow. Weather is warming. Having problems with the cleaning boy not cleaning the bathroom. [Thursday 6:30 p.m.] – They don’t bathe the third class patients. Having a linen dress made by the tailor. Talks of quilt fabrics. [Thursday evening] -- Wishes she had someone to carry the nursing responsibilities. [Friday noon] – Received a telegram from Elmer saying he is returning that day. Hopes so as a patient needs his leg amputated. [Sabbath a.m.] – Elmer did not make the train home. Stayed with a medical student all night who was hemorrhaging. Speaks of patients, doing the best she can for them but knowing that they will die. [Sunday] – Elmer made it home and is sleeping. He was so weary he could hardly stand, his white uniform was black, and he had several days’ worth of whiskers, so worn and haggard. He has lost much weight. They are both a bit discouraged. Almost decided to ask for a transfer unless they can get some help. Cautions not to share this part of the letter. They love the work, but they need help and rest. All of the other doctor’s except Dr. Miller are on vacation, but Elmer is sick. Feel the work is “going to smash” because Elmer is sick and they have no nurses. The Union expects them to make the hospital a go, but don’t do anything to get them help. States that she cannot take all the work if they want to have another baby [first one died].
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