Dr. Halsted was recruited to Baltimore, where John Hopkins, a grocer who became wealthy, dreamed of a hospital that would turn no one away. Mr. Hopkins bought the grounds of a former asylum but died before the building could even be planned. His trustees eventually managed 17 buildings, adding the newfangled central heating and paid marked attention to ventilation, to reduce contagion( three buildings still stand). Dr. Halsted became famous for his insistence on antiseptic technique and skill, teaching that slow, meticulous dissection was safer and more productive than the previous " slash and bash," when anesthesia was dangerously erratic and speed was urgently required. Dr. Coventry admirably reproduces surgical conversations, controversies, saves and losses, and the excitement of new operative inspiration and ideas.
Nurse Caroline Hampton, a socialite from South Carolina who had bucked tradition to seek meaningful work, caught his eye on the Hopkins surgical ward, and their relationship becomes the focal point of this book. He had chosen her as his primary OR scrub nurse, and because the disinfectant mercuric chloride solution bothered her hands so, he commissioned the Goodyear Rubber Company to make " thin rubber gloves with gauntlets." Soon, everyone there was using them, but they were not sterilized until Lister figured that out in 1894.
There is always with addictions the companion struggle of those who love the addicted but hate the drug. As Dr. Halsted organizes his life around cocaine use( while still teaching and operating on a packed schedule), Caroline must choose her path, fighting the guilt of abandoning him versus the pain of enduring his obsession. The author has beautifully captured the tension of such relationships, the seemingly endless cycle of anger and disappointment, the constant worry tempered by hope, that can erode or destroy the original devotion – or not. The richness of each partner ' s inner monologues, the reaching out to trusted friends, the resignation of defeat, the ongoing guilt and self-castigation of the addict: all are beautifully told.
The reader is well drawn into the story of these highly accomplished people who clearly love each other and yet, if addiction trumps love, how can they both go on?
I ' ll leave it to you to find out.
Dr. Barry is an internist and Associate Professor of Medicine( Gratis Faculty) at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, currently retired and mulling her next moves.
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