A Country Doctor and the Epidemics
Montana 1917-1918
by Steven D. Helgerson
published by Steven D. Helgerson
produced by Sweetgrass Books
- Can a country doctor alter the fate of his patients? Or his own fate?
In mid October 1918 the largest epidemic of the 2oth Century struck in a small eastern Montana town. Within a few weeks influenza had killed dozens of people in the rural county. But this was just one of a series of extrodinary events attacking the social fabric of the community in 1917 and 1918.
Rich in detail, broad in scope, this story places a fictional physician in the midst of the riveting events of those years. The physician grieves the death of his wife and unborn child. He is deeply troubled by the limitations of medical science. Then he is tragically enveloped by yet another epidemic.
What is the fate of this country doctor?
152 pages, 6" x 9", 30 softcovers per case
softcover
ISBN 10: 1591521912
ISBN 13: 9781591521914
$16.95
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| A Country Doctor and the Epidemics
Montana 1917-1918 |
| Doctor Harvey laid the boy on the exam table in his office. The suite consisted of an entry room where patients registered with his assistant, Margaret May (who preferred to be called May); a small room with a microscope, some medications, and reference textbooks; and a larger room for patient examination. May helped remove the blood-stained blanket and glanced at Doctor Harvey, who said, "Please take Mrs. Swensen to the entry area and give her some water and a wet towel to cool her face."
Using scissors he cut the boy's right trouser leg to view the wound more completely. A jagged-edge laceration began a few inches above the ankle and extended upward about five inches on the right side of the leg. Raymond was pale and moaned when Doctor Harvey began to explore and clean the wound. No bone was visible. Despite the swollen tissue, he palpated an area of fracture of the tibia above the ankle. May returned to the exam room and placed two basins filled with warm water beside the table. Doctor Harvey used the water to clean the skin and irrigate the wound profusely. He knew this open wound was a high risk for infection and further irrigated the wound with a solution of peroxide. For a moment he wished he had access to x-ray equipment but quickly resolved to set the fracture as carefully as he could. He asked May to bring a container of chloroform from the medication cabinet. -from Chapter Three: April 17th, 1917 - Early Afternoon |
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Steven Helgerson was born in Washington. He received degrees from the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington. His medical specialty is preventive medicine. During a forty-year career in public health he worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Indian Health Service as well as several state and local health departments. From 2006 to 2015 he served as the Montana State Medical Officer. He lives in Seattle. |