RECONSTRUCTION AND REHABILITATION OF THE TUBERCULOUS SOLDIER

Abstract

Much has been said and done in this great war concerning the reconstruction and reeducation of the crippled soldier, but it must be remembered that reconstruction, in perhaps a less spectacular way, applies to medical cases as well. We should not forget, in our zeal to assist the wounded soldier in returning to useful employment, that his less fortunate comrade who becomes stricken with disease may need the same helping hand. The one that presents the most difficult problem is the ill-fated consumptive. No tokens of bravery or emblems of the hero are pinned on him, although the fact that he has broken down with tuberculosis means he has given every ounce of resistance to his country's cause. It is well known among sanatorium physicians today that the ultimately bad result in the treatment of tuberculosis is usually due to the perfunctory way in which patients are discharged from institutions.