The summer of 1917 was saddened for us all by the loss to the work of
my beloved and able colleague, Dr. John Mason Little, Jr., who had
given ten years of most valuable labour to the people of this coast.
He had married, some years before, our delightful and unselfish
helper, Miss Ruth Keese, and they now had four little children growing
up in St. Anthony. The education of his family and the call of other
home ties made him feel that it had become essential for him to
terminate his more intimate connection with the North, and he left us
to take up medical work in Boston. The loss of them both was a very
heavy one to the work and to us personally, and we are only thankful
that we have been able to secure Dr. Little's invaluable assistance
and advice on our Board of Directors in Boston. This coast and this
hospital owe him a tremendous debt which can never be repaid, for it
was he who put this clinic in a position to hold up its head among the
best of medical work, and offer to this far-off people the grade of
skilled assistance which we should wish for our loved ones if they
were ill or in trouble. For Dr. Little offered not only his very
exceptional skill as a surgeon, but also the gift of his inspiring and
devoted personality.
The winter of 1917-18 was extremely severe, not only in our North
country, but in the United States and Canada also. I was lecturing
during this winter in both these latter countries, though during the
months of December and January travelling became very difficult owing
to the continuous blizzards. I was held up for three days in Racine,
Wisconsin, as neither trains, electric cars, or automobiles could make
their way through the heavy drifts. Had I had my trusty dog team,
however, I should not have missed three important lecture engagements.
Life in the North has its compensations.
At Toronto I was unfortunate enough to contract bronchitis and
pleurisy, and I understand from competent observers that I was an
"impossible patient." Be that as it may, so much pressure was brought
to bear on me that at last I was forced to obey the doctors and leave
for a month's rest in a warmer climate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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