dorky
One of the strange things about reading history is reading descriptions of archaic and ancient methods of doing things that we take for granted today. Take surgery for instance. In 1812, when James K. Polk was only 17 years old, he suffered from painful stones in his urinary tract. They became extremely painful for poor JKP and they needed to be removed. Unfortunately for poor Jimmy, in those days they weren't able to blast them into little bits using ultrasound, and they didn't have the types of anaesthetics that we have today. A number of Polk's biographers have written about what the poor kid had to go through. Here is one description, taken from John Seigenthaler's biography of Polk from the American Presidents Series. Seigenthaler describes what poor little Jimmy had to go through as follows:
"By modern standards, the operation was a terrifying procedure. It occurred under whatever sedation was obtainable from brandy. Jim's legs were held high in the air and being restrained by straps and assistants, the operation was done as quickly as possible. The procedure was to cut into the perineum (the area immediately behind the scrotum and in front of the anus) with a knife and thence through the prostate into the bladder with a gorget, a pointed, sharp instrument designed for this purpose. The stones were removed with forceps or a scoop. As able as [Dr.] McDowell was, and as quick as he had to be, the procedure must have meant a hellish half-hour of sheer torture for Jim Polk and a recovery period of several weeks before he could return home. Considering the crude methodology involved, the probable tearing of ejaculatory ducts, tissues, nerves and arteries as the gorget penetrated the prostate, there can be little doubt that the operation left him unable to father a child."
You think?
Polk's last words are reported to be "I love you Sarah for all eternity." The Polks must have had a very loving relationship. Unable to have children, all they had was each other. But it was all they needed.
