Letters to the Editor

Military Medicine, Jul 2004

To the Editor:

Since I originally wrote the article, "Me, and Walter Reed" [Milit Med 2004; 169:6, xii-xv], I have continued my research on his life. I recently discovered that there is yet another common bond between us that ties our pasts even closer together.

An article entitled 'Doctor Who Conquered Yellow Fever Married M'boro Girl' appeared in the NewsHerald, Murfreesboro, NC, dated April 20, 1966. This article recalls a story told by a local citizen that captures a visit made to Murfreesboro by Walter Reed and family before the turn of the century. Dr. Reed visited Murfreesboro accompanied by his wife, two children and an orphaned Indian girl named Susie.

It reads in part:

'The story of how the Reeds acquired Susie elicited sympathy from people here. Some soldiers in Dr. Reed's camp found the frightened child in an Indian village that the ill-famed Geronimo and his men had burned and ravaged. The little girl, seriously burned, had been left there to die. The soldiers took her to Dr, Reed who bandaged her burned side and legs. Il was said that the doctor grafted some of his own skin to the knees of the child. '

'Mrs. Reed took Susie into the Reed home where she lived for 12 years as a playmate for Blossom and Lawrence and was trained to do housework. When Susie grew up she taught English to members of her own race. '

I have not found any other reference to Susie in my research. I hope that this letter will turn up additional information on her.

Jennifer M. Hodge, B.S., A.D.N.

Murfreesboro, North Carolina

To the Editor:

I was surprised to see such obvious errors in temperature conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit in the article "The Golden Hour" for Heatstroke Treatment" [Milit Med 2004; 169:3,184-86], especially since it was all about establishing proper temperature to save lives. Every single Fahrenheit reading was wrong, but not just wrong, they were way off. As we all know, 37 C is 98.6 F, so how in the world could 42.5 C be 55.6 F? In spite of the errors, the point of the article was dramatically driven home, when one considers that someone whose core temperature was 108.5 F (42.5 C) at the time of injury survived with proper treatment, whereas a patient with a core temperature of only 104 F (40.0 C) only 15 minutes after collapse did not survive, simply because core temperature was not lowered fast enough. I'm sure I'm not the only person to notice this error. Thanks for a great journal, where these kinds of mistakes are rare.

LCDR Rob Werner, MSC, USNR

Naval Hospital, Bremerton

To the Editor:

My article "Wound Shock: A History of Its Study and Treatment by Military Surgeons" recently appeared in Military Medicine [Milit Med 2004; 169:4, 265-69]. It was inevitable that in trying to cover such a large subject in a short article, many significant works and surgeons were not mentioned. Col. Janice Mendelson worked diligently for many yeas in the field of wounds and resuscitation and wrote many significant articles in the field. Those topics include the local treatment of wounds by sulfamylon and the choice of plasma volume expanders in the treatment of hypovolemic shock. Her many reports include "Use of Whole Blood and Blood Volume Expanders in the U.S. Military Medical Facilities in Vietnam 19661971" in the Journal of Trauma [1975; 15:1-13], "The Selection of Plasma Volume Expanders for Resuscitation Following Trauma: A Review" in Military Medicine [Milit Med 1975; 140:4,258-62], and "Topical Mafenide Hydrochloride Aqueous Spray in Initial Management of Massive Contaminated Wounds with Devitalized Tissue," in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine [2001 ; 16:172-74]. These works are certainly worthy of mention.

BG Robert M. Hardaway, MC, USA (Ret)

El Paso, Texas