Penicillin pioneer Dr Martin Henry Dawson personally treated about three dozen endocarditis patients with penicillin before he died in April 1945.
For virtually all of them we know a little bit - while of a few we know virtually nothing.
For the most, those after November 1942, we know their age at admission, gender, race, hints of their occupation and marital status and of course a bit of their past medical history and a good deal of the course of their penicillin treatments, including precise dates.
But their personal and family names are reduced to initials for first and last names.
And after January 1944, we can do longer be sure they came from streets within a mile or two of Columbia presbyterian hospital - now they could well come from as far away as near by states like New Jersey or Connecticut etc.
Gladys Hobby tried to put names behind these later patients in the early 1980s and even mentioned the first and last names of a few people she met who were still alive and didn't mind their names ending up in a book.
We do know the first and last names of Dawson's first two SBE patients, the last name of his third but nothing of his next two SBE patients - except they were men and died between the Spring of 1941 and the Spring of 1942.
We know a bit about the first of Dawson's three acute bacterial endocarditis patients - but no name.
In January 1941, Dawson's third SBE patient was a Mr Conant - he did not survive we are led to assume - for sure the penicillin failed to arrest his bloodstream infection level.
The first two patients were young males and referred to by their first and last name.
But calling someone "Mr" Conant sounds as if he is older and more middle class - but not likely to be too old or he'd be dead already from SBE.
And too well off or he be unlikely to be in a public ward rather than a private room. And probably from New York City proper.
The New York City death records do show a male Conant dying May 31 1941 in Manhattan (where Dawson's hospital was located).
His name was George M Conant and he was 40, born in about 1902 and perhaps lived in Middletown Orange County New York State with his wife Marabelle and his three young daughters Dolores, Edith and Gloria.
We will see ....
For virtually all of them we know a little bit - while of a few we know virtually nothing.
For the most, those after November 1942, we know their age at admission, gender, race, hints of their occupation and marital status and of course a bit of their past medical history and a good deal of the course of their penicillin treatments, including precise dates.
But their personal and family names are reduced to initials for first and last names.
And after January 1944, we can do longer be sure they came from streets within a mile or two of Columbia presbyterian hospital - now they could well come from as far away as near by states like New Jersey or Connecticut etc.
Gladys Hobby tried to put names behind these later patients in the early 1980s and even mentioned the first and last names of a few people she met who were still alive and didn't mind their names ending up in a book.
We do know the first and last names of Dawson's first two SBE patients, the last name of his third but nothing of his next two SBE patients - except they were men and died between the Spring of 1941 and the Spring of 1942.
We know a bit about the first of Dawson's three acute bacterial endocarditis patients - but no name.
In January 1941, Dawson's third SBE patient was a Mr Conant - he did not survive we are led to assume - for sure the penicillin failed to arrest his bloodstream infection level.
The first two patients were young males and referred to by their first and last name.
But calling someone "Mr" Conant sounds as if he is older and more middle class - but not likely to be too old or he'd be dead already from SBE.
And too well off or he be unlikely to be in a public ward rather than a private room. And probably from New York City proper.
The New York City death records do show a male Conant dying May 31 1941 in Manhattan (where Dawson's hospital was located).
His name was George M Conant and he was 40, born in about 1902 and perhaps lived in Middletown Orange County New York State with his wife Marabelle and his three young daughters Dolores, Edith and Gloria.
We will see ....
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