At the Mercy of TiberiusEvans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane)
History
At the Mercy of Tiberius
Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane)
Rome -- History -- Tiberius, 14-37 -- Fiction
"I first saw the prisoner in August last, when she summoned me to see
her mother, who was suffering from an attack of fever. I discovered
that she was in a dangerous condition in consequence of an aneurism
located in the carotid artery, and when she had been relieved of
malarial fever, I told both mother and daughter that an operation was
necessary, to remove the aneurism. Soon after, I left the city for a
month, and on my return the daughter again called me in. I advised that
without delay the patient should be removed to the hospital, where a
surgeon--a specialist--could perform the operation. To this the young
lady objected, on the ground that she could not assist in nursing, if
her mother entered the hospital; and she would not consent to the
separation. She asked what amount would be required to secure at home
the services of the surgeon, a trained nurse, and the subsequent
treatment; and I told her I thought a hundred dollars would cover all
incidentals, and secure one of the most skilful surgeons in the city. I
continued from time to time to see the mother, and administered such
medicines as I deemed necessary to invigorate and tone up the patient's
system for the operation. One day in October, the young lady came to
pay me for some prescriptions, and asked if a few weeks' delay would
enhance the danger of the operation. I assured her it was important to
lose no time, and urged her to arrange matters so as to remove the
patient to the hospital as soon as possible, offering to procure her
admission. She showed great distress, and informed me that she hoped to
receive very soon a considerable sum of money, from some artistic
designs that she felt sure would secure the prize. A week later she
came again, and I gave her a prescription to allay her mother's
nervousness. Then, with much agitation, she told me that she was going
South by the night express, to seek assistance from her mother's
father, who was a man of wealth, but had disowned Mrs. Brentano on
account of her marriage. She asked for a written statement of the
patient's condition, and the absolute necessity of the operation. I
wrote it, and as she stood looking at the paper, she said:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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