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Foreword “BRINGING THIS FINE MAN BACK TO LIFE”: LIFE AND WORK OF WILSON R. BACHELOR The range of serious health problems in southern communities during the decades just after the Civil War was enormous, probably larger than we see in the great medical centers today. For rural doctors the resources at hand were very limited, however. Such was the setting for the medical practice of Dr. Wilson R. Bachelor in west-central Arkansas. From his diary we get only a glimpse of the challenges he faced, but what is revealed makes a solid contribution to our understanding of medical practice at the time.What an incredible man emerges from the pages of his writings! He was a keen observer and lover of nature, camping in the great outdoors on frequent visits to other communities —always attentive to the sounds of birds and insects around him. He delighted in great literature and loved his time with learned friends. He played violin and guitar and taught his children to join in his love for making music. He treasured his family and the land on which he lived, but in his soul he was a physician, and in the quiet hours of reflection through the years he felt that his contribution through life was in that realm. In 1874, at age forty-seven, he wrote, “when I look back . . . I think I have not been the cause of pain to any person, but have sympathized with the Suffering, and endeavored to relieve corporeal pain and mental anguish . . . .” What more could any man desire? Although the bulk of his writings are philosophical in nature, often with political leanings, Dr. Bachelor’s thoughts repeatedly turned to personal and family affairs, and he wrote about them in poetic ways. His medical notes are rather limited, but they are of significant historic value. He documents several difficult obstetrical cases, and under the limited options of home delivery, few obstetricians today could have done better. Not all were successful in saving the life of the mother and child, but all denote heroic attempts to do so.What is so obvious in the light of today’s knowledge is that with proper prenatal care and our current range of pharmaceutical options and surgical procedures, all would likely be managed successfully.Today’s professionals can only admire Dr. Bachelor’s equanimity and persistence in the face of adversity. It seems likely that there was little financial reward for his medical attention , although the diary makes no mention of this. Most rural patients had no cash, particularly those with the most serious or longstanding health problems, xix so he might have been given a couple of chickens or a shank of ham for his labors. It has been said that the doctor ranked behind the blacksmith and dry goods store owner in getting paid, since the farmers were dependent on their products, whereas paying the doctor was elective. Dr. Bachelor paid great attention to his own land and crops, for they likely were the base of whatever material success he had, and the practice income was but an added component. One note of special interest is the potential that he might have had incipient interest in germ theory.While most of his obstetrical manipulations apparently were done with bare hands,and he never made note that antisepsis was a special issue, he began treating one of his wounded patients in a new way. In August 1874,thus,the suppurating wound of his patient with a cranial fracture worried him a lot,and he began “detergent” washes and “chlorinated” washes.Although he later stuck his finger into the wound to assess the fracture size, these seem to have been approaches above and beyond routine debridement.We last are told of this patient in his tenth week of treatment, in which he is recovering slowly. One is struck by how frequently Dr.Bachelor was asked to respond to knife and bullet injuries, and he commented pointedly on this in his journal. For instance, on 18 August 1874, he writes, “There is not a week, but the report of bloodshed and murder reaches us....Since the first of January 1874 untill to day, the number of men who have died by violence equal(s) those,who have died of disease.” It’s interesting to observe that Dr. Bachelor didn’t appear to be very busy at times;two or three days might elapse before he was contacted for help.Of course that call usually...

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