y advice.
"At this time I found all her old pains and aches running riot. She got
no relief from them night or day without large doses of chloral. The
slightest exertion, such as sewing, writing, and reading for a few
minutes, greatly wearied her. Even the simple mental effort of casting
up the weekly housekeeping expenses of a very small household upset her,
and she had to give it up. The act of walking one of our blocks, or of
going down a short flight of stairs, or of riding for an hour in a
well-padded carriage, gave her such 'unspeakable agony'--to use her own
words--that she would have an hysterical attack of screams and tears. So
emotional had this constant nerve-strain made her that she could not
sustain an ordinary conversation without giving way to tears. Much of
her time was spent in bed; in fact, she was practically bedridden.
"I tried in vain to wean her from her anodynes, and failed altogether in
doing her any good, although many remedies were resorted to, and various
modes of treatment adopted. Finally, in sheer despair, I put her to bed,
and began your treatment of rest, with electricity, massage, and
frequent feeding. The first trace of improvement showed itself in a
greater self-control, and in a lessening of her aches and pains. Next,
smaller doses of the anodyne were needed, until it was wholly withheld.
Then she began to pick up an appetite, which, towards the close of the
treatment, became so keen that, between three good meals every day, she
drank several goblets of milk and of beef-tea. At the outset I had
stipulated for six weeks of this treatment, and it was with reluctance
that my patient yielded to my wish. But when the time was up she had
become so impressed with the wonderful benefits she had received and was
receiving, that she begged to have the treatment continued for two weeks
more. At the end of that time she had gained at least thirty pounds in
weight, and had lost every pain and ache. Her night-terrors, which I
forgot to mention as one of her distressing symptoms, had wholly
disappeared, and she could sleep from nine to ten hours at a stretch. I
now sent her into the country, where she is continuing to mend, and is
astonishing her friends by her scrambles up and down the steep hills.
"Such were the salient features of this case; and I can assure you that
I was as much impressed by the happy results of the treatment as were a
host of anxious and doubting friends.
"Very faithful
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