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10 This episode is from the period in my medical career when, after the Second World War, 1 was for several years engaged in general practice before joining the staff of Hong Kong University. Practising medical doctors have their successes and failures, the majority of which are not dramatic. Only on rare occasions does something happen which confounds all predictions and can truly be called a medical miracle. Such was my memorable experience which began one ordinary day in 1952 when 1 entered St. Francis Hospital on a routine visit to see my patients. Of course, 1 am exercising literary licence when 1 use the word “miracle弋 for by defÏnition the word implies divine intervention. 1 claim no such connection, but the event was suffÏciently far outside my normal experience to justify my use of the word. Since this is not intended to be a medical case report in the scientifÏc sense, 1 shall try to use lay language and include as few medical details as possible. St. Francis Hospital, where 1 normally placed my patients requiring hospital care, was a small hospital tucked away at the end of a short, narrow dead-end lane in a seedy part of Wan Chai, on Hong Kong Island. lt was run by ltalian sisters of the Canossian Order. They were all trained nurses, but what made the place especially appealing to me was their immense patience and dedication, spurred no doubt by their religious conviction. No hospital, in my view, could boast of better nursing care. The Hospital, by the way, is no longer there. lt was closed in the 1970s, replaced by the larger and more modern Canossa Hospital located in the M址-Levels. T0 come back to that “ordinary" day: after 1 had fÏnished my round, the matron of the Hospital approached me and said that a Chinese couple had brought their little boy who was very ill. They wanted to see a doctor, any doctor, and since 1 happened to be present would 1 please see them. The parents were waiting in the waiting room: a well-dressed couple, perhaps in 140 Part 2 their early forties; their child was lying on a hospital trolley. In fluent English they told me that their boy, Stephen (not his real name), aged seven, had been treated in another hospital for tuberculous meningitis and in spite of the treatment had steadily deteriorated. The doctors who treated Stephen pronounced the case hopeless, that nothing more could be done for him and advised the parents to take the boy “home to die'\Instead, desperate and determined not to give up, they brought him to St. Francis HospitaL They begged me to treat him. 1 explained as gently as possible, that the hospital in which Stephen had been treated was well known and had a good reputation, that 1 had no reason to doubt the other doctors' opinion, and that perhaps they should follow their advice, but they begged me to examine the boy and treat him. With some reluctance 1 agreed to examine the child. lt was a pathetic sight. The boy was lying on his side with all four limbs bent close to his body. He was skin and bone, weighing about thirty pounds. He was in deep coma and did not respond to any extemal stimuli. There was no doubt in my mind that he was moribund and that death was imminent. 1 explained to the parents that there was nothing 1 could do and that they must accept the hopelessness of the situation. Again they begged me to treat him, assuring me that they understood the situation and placed no undue hope on Stephen's recovery. 1 was touched by their courage and their amazing determination not to give up as long as their child was alive. Against my better judgement 1 agreed to look after the boy. The sisters were delighted with my decision almost as if they expected a miracle. 1 confìrmed the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis, by examining the cerebro-spinal fluid - the fluid which bathes the brain and the spinal cord. This is done by extracting some of the fluid with a syringe and needle inserted through a gap in the spine, usually in the lower back region - a procedure known as “lumbar puncture". The bacilli of tuberculosis could be seen in the fluid through a microscope, indicating the extreme severity of the case, as usually they can only be demonstrated by...

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