The Man Who Was a Hospital
By Jerome K. Jerome
How
did Jerome K. Jerome come to suspect that his liver was out of order? What were
the diseases he thought he was suffering from on reading a book on treatment of
diseases?
He
was reading a patent liver-pill circular where all the symptoms were given by
which a man could tell when his liver is out of order. He thought that he had
all those symptoms. After reading a book on treatment of diseases, Jerome K.
Jerome reached to the conclusion that he was suffering from almost all the
diseases listed in the book save housemaid’s knee.
What
was the disease he discovered he did not have?
He
sifted through all the twenty-six letters and the only disease he concluded he
was not suffering form was housemaid’s knee. He probably did not have that
disease because it often occurs in women doing household work.
Was
he pleased to find that he did not have house maid’s knee?
The
author was not pleased when he found out that he did not have the housemaid’s
knee. He called it an ‘invidious reservation’. He felt hurt and thought that it
was some sort of slight that he did not have it.
What
was his first reaction when he found out that he did not have house maid’s
knee?
When
he found out that he did not have housemaid’s knee, he felt hurt about this at
first and considered it a slight. After a while, when he thought that he had
every other known malady in pharmacology, he grew less selfish and decided to
do without housemaid’s knee.
Why
should he be an acquisition to a medical class?
He
should be an acquisition to a medical class because he was suffering from every
known malady in pharmacology. The students would not have to walk to different
hospitals to examine the patients of different diseases. All they had to do was
to walk around his bed and get their degree.
Describe
his visit to the medical man?
The
author went to his medical man who was his old friend and told him that he
would not waist his time by telling him about the diseases he was suffering
from. He said that he was suffering from all diseases save housemaid’s knee and
told him how he came to discover it. The doctor examined him, wrote a
prescription, folded it and gave it to him.
He
thought that he was doing the doctor good turn by going to him. Why?
He
was doing the doctor good turn by going to him because he was suffering form so
many diseases. All a doctor wants is practice and with the author the doctor
will get more practice out of him than seventeen hundred ordinary, commonplace
patients with only one or two diseases.
What
was the prescription given to him by the doctor?
The
doctor gave him the prescription which ran:
1
lb. beefsteak every six hours,
Ten
mile walk every morning,
Bed
at 11 sharp every night.
And
don’t stuff your head with things you don’t understand.
Describe
his visit to the chemist?
The
author took the prescription to the nearest chemist’s and handed it in. The man
read it and then handed it back. He said he did not keep it. The author asked
him why he did not have it. He is a chemist and he is supposed to have it. The
chemist answered that if he were a co-operative store and family hotel combined,
then he could have obliged him. Being only a chemist hampers him because the
prescription did not have any medicines. It only contains instructions about
exercise, diet and daily routine.
What
is the significance of doctor’s advice “don’t stuff your head with things, you
don’t understand”.
The
doctor’s advice is very significant because it is only the job of professionals
to make decisions on professional issues. One should be especially careful
regarding the matters pertaining to one’s health and should consult a doctor
and let him decide on the matter. One should not decide merely on the basis of
superficial knowledge.
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