Massage and systematic exercise
were kept up together for six months. The massage was stopped and the
exercises continued, and improvement went on steadily, though the fixed
pains kept up in only slightly less severity.
In a year the patient was better in general health, looks, and spirits
than he had been for many years before, and remained in good order,
except for the daily recurrences of paroxysms of pain of varying but not
unbearable severity for two years. He then presumed for a month on his
strength, and took much more exercise afoot than was wise, worked late
at night over his books, had some additional nervous strain from
business worries, and came to Dr. J.K. Mitchell in October, 1898, barely
able to crawl with two canes, having lost weight, become sleepless,
suffered great increase of pain, and grown so ataxic that he could
scarcely walk. This change had all occurred in three or four weeks. He
became steadily worse for two or three weeks till he could not stand or
walk at all, had cystitis from retention, violent attacks of rectal
tenesmus, stabbing pains in rectum, perineum, scrotum, and groins, with
almost total anaesthesia of the sacral region, buttocks, scrotum, and
perineum, inability to retain faeces, while passages from the bowels took
place without his knowledge.
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