Medicine: Take Up Thy Bed

The injury soldiers are most appalled by is severance of the spinal cord. In World War I it meant almost certain death; the few who lived were hopelessly paralyzed. Since D-day in Normandy, more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have suffered this injury. But most of them are still alive, and some are walking.

Army surgeons quietly announced this major triumph of World War II medicine last week. The chief credit for saving the lives of spinal cord casualties goes to penicillin and the sulfa drugs, which helped remove the greatest single danger—infection of the bladder and kidneys. But more remarkable than life-saving is the job 21 U.S. Army hospitals are doing in restoring these paralyzed men to something like normal life.

A complete break in the spinal cord paralyzes all the body from the break down. Doctors have found no way to splice the cord together or revive paralyzed organs. But they can condition some of the organs to function automatically, and they can train a man, with the help of steel braces such as Franklin Roosevelt wore, to stand on his paralyzed legs.

Proudest of the Army Surgeon General's exhibits is the spinal ward, Ward 108, at Newton D. Baker General Hospital in Martinsburg, W.Va. Of 69 men there, 43 are "walking patients" (they proudly sign themselves W.P.). Most walk with the aid of braces, crutches or canes, but 14 of them, whose spinal cords are only partly severed, walk with no help at all.

Treatment of a spinal patient begins with absolute rest for the back, usually in a plaster cast. Because the paralyzed legs are completely numb, patients commonly develop bed sores. The Newton D. Baker Hospital developed a quick cure: skin grafts. No less troublesome is the problem of getting patients to eat; the spinal injury destroys their appetite. The hospital spurs them on by serving especially tasty and attractive food.

Next comes training of the paralyzed organs. By slow, patient use of a "tidal drainage" system, the paralyzed bladder and bowels are conditioned to empty themselves automatically at regular intervals. Learning to walk is more difficult. In most cases success depends mainly on 1 ) convincing the patient of the incredible fact that walking is possible, 2) exercises to strengthen' the arms and shoulders (which supply the power for swinging the legs). Finally comes training for a job that a man can do with head and hands alone.

One of the first to walk in Ward 108 was Private First Class Harry Sanders, 24, who was hurt at Saint-LÔ last summer when a bomb exploded 5 ft. behind him. Almost completely paralyzed from the waist down, blue-eyed Private Sanders went home to Marysville, Pa. on furlough last month, hopped proudly around the house on his braces, laid plans to return to civilian life as a radio mechanic.