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Fred ate some poisonous mushrooms. And, being Fred, he was more interested in recording the medical details of his own case than in the fact that he could have died.
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REPORT OF A CASE OF POISONING BY FUNGI
CLYTOCYBE MORBIFERA Sept. 30, 1931
On Wednesday, September 30th, 1931 about two hours after eating the mushrooms which afterwards were definitely identified as Clitocybe morbifera, the symptoms began to appear. These were not recognized probably for a few minutes because I was reading at the time and felt chilly so that mechanically I closed the windows of the sun parlor and sat down again to read. In a short time I became definitely aware that my face was covred with perspiration. I immediately suspected poisoning and made an effort to evacuate the stomach by drinking warm water and tickling the pharynx, vomiting induced in this manner was inadequate. I looked through a few books at home in an effort to find something about mushroom poisoning. I hastened to the Main Building of the Hospital to find something on the subject. Between the corner by Dr. Lang's home and the Hospital door I know that my mouth was filled three times and I had to spit. I went into the Office and looked at three books before I found much about the subject. AT this time I felt relieved that the onset of symptoms was usually after five hours. While reading this I made several trips to the Lavatory to empty my mouth. I obtained a stomach tube at the Pharmacy and immediately returned to the apartment. I purposely took the longer route to and from the hospital so that I would more likely be found if I was unsuccessful in reaching my destination. Returning to the apartment I made several efforts to pass the stomach tube but was unsuccessful. I then called Dr. Fiedler in the next apartment. He at once commented on my perspiration and I told him that I had been playing tennic. Epicac was administered by Dr. Fiedler. I was not greatly frightened as I felt no distress whatever, no discomfort, I had no headache, no nausea and no intestinal symptoms at this time. The only discomfort that I felt was due to the efforts to evacuate the stomach and to pass the stomach tube. Withing a few minutes the first visual symptoms appeared. I tried to go to the toilet, and could not see Dr. Fiedler, though there seemed to be a light about the floor of the room and I asked him if the lights were on. Dr. Fiedler led me to the bathroom and I purged and vomited a large quantity of indigested food, comprising about the whole of the meal. I could see the vomitus on the floor but I could see nothing about it. Dr. Lang was called and when he came into the bathroom and came close I could se nothing but his feet, the upward visual field was entirely blank. I was still wholly conscious. Dr. Lang asked if I knew the antidote and I replied Atropin. Dr. Lang went up to his house and got Hypodermic syringe and needles and immediately administered Atropin in the left scapula region and I remembered this. Up to this point things were fairly clear, my mind was clear and there was no appreshension and no real anxiety. I believed that the vomiting had been adequate. I remember experiencing severe rigor; I have no distinct remembrance of returning to bed and I lost consciousness by this time and slowly regained consciousness in perhaps an hour or an hour and a half later, without any realization that I had been unconscious, things were going on just about as they had been when I became unconscious. Soon I was aware that there were other persons present who had not been there previously but I could not see but could hear the voice of a nurse. With the return of consciousness there was a restoration of vision in all but the upper left quadrant. The first incident that I noted when I became conscious was Mrs. Stokey's coming into the room by the door at the head of the bed, and I commented once that I could see her. Dehydration was extreme. Within an hour I felt very comfortable with the exception of a very sore abdomen, respirations were uncomfortable. I did not feel thirsty. The vision had returned to all except the upper left quadrant. About 7 or 7 1/2 hours after the onset, a bowel movement contained red blood and bowel movement the next forenoon contained blood. Later there was passed a cast of the bowel such as occurs in Mucus Colitis. All of the discomfort and the whole experience seemed due to the treatment and not to the poisoning. If untreated in any way death probably would be free from any discomfort. The thing which persists until the present time is visual disturbance; this blind spot seems to be Cortical; there were optical illusions present. Lying in bed with the light in the ceiling turned on, it seems to dip so that the light seems to be a foot and a half lower than its real position. The corner of the ceiling to the right of the light appears somewhat nearer than it should but in relation to this the light seems to be nearer and lower. There seems to be a fore shortening of the upper visual field. While lying in bed for the first few days I made frequent checks of the visual field with hands extended in a bilaterally symetrical position, and the left hand and thumb would appear as the hands approached the fixation point. Three days after the onset I could distinguish the hand in the extreme upper left quadrant, though as it was brought forward toward the fixation point the hand would disappear and reappear. At this time when I shaved myself, if I looked at my nose the left eye was invisible, the region seemed foggy. There were no signs of blankness merely that things faded away. This defect in the visual field had the same sensation as the normal blind spot, things merely disappeared in this region though the field seemed to be unbroken. I first got out of bed to walk around on Monday, October 5th, and at this time the optical illusion took a different form. Lying in bed the useful part of the visual field is the lower half, walking, the whole field is used. At this time there was a loss of perspective in the upper half of the field, that is the upper right quadrant did not give stereoscopic impressions. The floor and lower part of the room seemed almost normal, and the upper part had the effect of painted scenery at about fifteen feet distance, giving it a stage effect. The whole effect had a sort of unreal appearance. There were features in the mid-field which seemed somewhat comparable to the perspective of the old fashioned stereoscope.
CLYTOCYBE MORBIFERA Sept. 30, 1931
On Wednesday, September 30th, 1931 about two hours after eating the mushrooms which afterwards were definitely identified as Clitocybe morbifera, the symptoms began to appear. These were not recognized probably for a few minutes because I was reading at the time and felt chilly so that mechanically I closed the windows of the sun parlor and sat down again to read. In a short time I became definitely aware that my face was covred with perspiration. I immediately suspected poisoning and made an effort to evacuate the stomach by drinking warm water and tickling the pharynx, vomiting induced in this manner was inadequate. I looked through a few books at home in an effort to find something about mushroom poisoning. I hastened to the Main Building of the Hospital to find something on the subject. Between the corner by Dr. Lang's home and the Hospital door I know that my mouth was filled three times and I had to spit. I went into the Office and looked at three books before I found much about the subject. AT this time I felt relieved that the onset of symptoms was usually after five hours. While reading this I made several trips to the Lavatory to empty my mouth. I obtained a stomach tube at the Pharmacy and immediately returned to the apartment. I purposely took the longer route to and from the hospital so that I would more likely be found if I was unsuccessful in reaching my destination. Returning to the apartment I made several efforts to pass the stomach tube but was unsuccessful. I then called Dr. Fiedler in the next apartment. He at once commented on my perspiration and I told him that I had been playing tennic. Epicac was administered by Dr. Fiedler. I was not greatly frightened as I felt no distress whatever, no discomfort, I had no headache, no nausea and no intestinal symptoms at this time. The only discomfort that I felt was due to the efforts to evacuate the stomach and to pass the stomach tube. Withing a few minutes the first visual symptoms appeared. I tried to go to the toilet, and could not see Dr. Fiedler, though there seemed to be a light about the floor of the room and I asked him if the lights were on. Dr. Fiedler led me to the bathroom and I purged and vomited a large quantity of indigested food, comprising about the whole of the meal. I could see the vomitus on the floor but I could see nothing about it. Dr. Lang was called and when he came into the bathroom and came close I could se nothing but his feet, the upward visual field was entirely blank. I was still wholly conscious. Dr. Lang asked if I knew the antidote and I replied Atropin. Dr. Lang went up to his house and got Hypodermic syringe and needles and immediately administered Atropin in the left scapula region and I remembered this. Up to this point things were fairly clear, my mind was clear and there was no appreshension and no real anxiety. I believed that the vomiting had been adequate. I remember experiencing severe rigor; I have no distinct remembrance of returning to bed and I lost consciousness by this time and slowly regained consciousness in perhaps an hour or an hour and a half later, without any realization that I had been unconscious, things were going on just about as they had been when I became unconscious. Soon I was aware that there were other persons present who had not been there previously but I could not see but could hear the voice of a nurse. With the return of consciousness there was a restoration of vision in all but the upper left quadrant. The first incident that I noted when I became conscious was Mrs. Stokey's coming into the room by the door at the head of the bed, and I commented once that I could see her. Dehydration was extreme. Within an hour I felt very comfortable with the exception of a very sore abdomen, respirations were uncomfortable. I did not feel thirsty. The vision had returned to all except the upper left quadrant. About 7 or 7 1/2 hours after the onset, a bowel movement contained red blood and bowel movement the next forenoon contained blood. Later there was passed a cast of the bowel such as occurs in Mucus Colitis. All of the discomfort and the whole experience seemed due to the treatment and not to the poisoning. If untreated in any way death probably would be free from any discomfort. The thing which persists until the present time is visual disturbance; this blind spot seems to be Cortical; there were optical illusions present. Lying in bed with the light in the ceiling turned on, it seems to dip so that the light seems to be a foot and a half lower than its real position. The corner of the ceiling to the right of the light appears somewhat nearer than it should but in relation to this the light seems to be nearer and lower. There seems to be a fore shortening of the upper visual field. While lying in bed for the first few days I made frequent checks of the visual field with hands extended in a bilaterally symetrical position, and the left hand and thumb would appear as the hands approached the fixation point. Three days after the onset I could distinguish the hand in the extreme upper left quadrant, though as it was brought forward toward the fixation point the hand would disappear and reappear. At this time when I shaved myself, if I looked at my nose the left eye was invisible, the region seemed foggy. There were no signs of blankness merely that things faded away. This defect in the visual field had the same sensation as the normal blind spot, things merely disappeared in this region though the field seemed to be unbroken. I first got out of bed to walk around on Monday, October 5th, and at this time the optical illusion took a different form. Lying in bed the useful part of the visual field is the lower half, walking, the whole field is used. At this time there was a loss of perspective in the upper half of the field, that is the upper right quadrant did not give stereoscopic impressions. The floor and lower part of the room seemed almost normal, and the upper part had the effect of painted scenery at about fifteen feet distance, giving it a stage effect. The whole effect had a sort of unreal appearance. There were features in the mid-field which seemed somewhat comparable to the perspective of the old fashioned stereoscope.
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I think this must have happened in Massachusetts. According to a letter from Sibyl, it sounds as though Fred and Sibyl went to Canada in the summer of 1931, but they surely would have been back by the end of September, because they had young Curtis McDowell staying with them, and he would have started school in September.
1931-06-08 LETTER FROM SIBYL TO KAY
As for when this narrative was written, I'm figuring it was in mid-October of 1931. It looks as though perhaps Fred started writing it but then lost interest in it when his recovery was complete. I don't think I need to set an exact date to it, though.
But how is it that Fred ate poisoned mushrooms and nobody else did? Not even Sibyl?
Anyway, here's what I found about Clitocybe morbifera in:
https://www.npss.sk.ca/docs/2_pdf/Edible_and_Poisonous_Mushrooms_of_Canada.pdf
CLITOCYBE DEALBATA[...]This poisonous little mushroom is dangerous because of its habit of growing in or near rings of Marasmius oreades, which is often collected for food. The color of the pileus is somewhat similar in the two species although the Clitocybe is whiter, but a glance at the lamellae will quickly distinguish the two. Clitocybe morbifera Pk. and C. sudorifica Pk. appear to be synonyms of C. dealbata.
In other words, we've got three mushroom names here:
Clitocybe morbifera - the culprit in Fred's poisoning
Clitocybe dealbata - the more commonly used name for Clitocybe morbifera
Marasmius oreades - a non-poisonous mushroom that looks like Clitocybe dealbata / Clitocybe morbifera
Marasmius oreades is also known as the fairy ring mushroom.
Therefore somebody - probably Fred - thought he was picking some nice fairy ring mushrooms, and got Clitocybe dealbata / Clitocybe morbifera instead.
LATER
I asked AG about this, expecting nothing because it happened several years before she was born, but she knew all about it. She said it was not her father who picked the mushrooms, it was the housekeeper - or anyway, a friend of the housekeeper's. The housekeeper had been given the mushrooms and she left them on the kitchen counter for Fred to check to make sure they were OK. There was apparently no note, and Fred assumed they had already been checked, and he ate them. AG said his eyes recovered fully.
When I told her that the poisoned mushrooms must have been mistaken for fairy ring mushrooms, she said oh yes, Fred regularly went out and picked those mushrooms, and AG went with him. They picked mushrooms from people's lawns in Woods Hole, and she remembered that early one morning as they were doing this, somebody opened a window and called out, "If you're collecting mushrooms, please be quiet." AG naturally assumed that she was the one making too much noise.
1931-06-08 LETTER FROM SIBYL TO KAY
As for when this narrative was written, I'm figuring it was in mid-October of 1931. It looks as though perhaps Fred started writing it but then lost interest in it when his recovery was complete. I don't think I need to set an exact date to it, though.
But how is it that Fred ate poisoned mushrooms and nobody else did? Not even Sibyl?
Anyway, here's what I found about Clitocybe morbifera in:
https://www.npss.sk.ca/docs/2_pdf/Edible_and_Poisonous_Mushrooms_of_Canada.pdf
CLITOCYBE DEALBATA[...]This poisonous little mushroom is dangerous because of its habit of growing in or near rings of Marasmius oreades, which is often collected for food. The color of the pileus is somewhat similar in the two species although the Clitocybe is whiter, but a glance at the lamellae will quickly distinguish the two. Clitocybe morbifera Pk. and C. sudorifica Pk. appear to be synonyms of C. dealbata.
In other words, we've got three mushroom names here:
Clitocybe morbifera - the culprit in Fred's poisoning
Clitocybe dealbata - the more commonly used name for Clitocybe morbifera
Marasmius oreades - a non-poisonous mushroom that looks like Clitocybe dealbata / Clitocybe morbifera
Marasmius oreades is also known as the fairy ring mushroom.
Therefore somebody - probably Fred - thought he was picking some nice fairy ring mushrooms, and got Clitocybe dealbata / Clitocybe morbifera instead.
LATER
I asked AG about this, expecting nothing because it happened several years before she was born, but she knew all about it. She said it was not her father who picked the mushrooms, it was the housekeeper - or anyway, a friend of the housekeeper's. The housekeeper had been given the mushrooms and she left them on the kitchen counter for Fred to check to make sure they were OK. There was apparently no note, and Fred assumed they had already been checked, and he ate them. AG said his eyes recovered fully.
When I told her that the poisoned mushrooms must have been mistaken for fairy ring mushrooms, she said oh yes, Fred regularly went out and picked those mushrooms, and AG went with him. They picked mushrooms from people's lawns in Woods Hole, and she remembered that early one morning as they were doing this, somebody opened a window and called out, "If you're collecting mushrooms, please be quiet." AG naturally assumed that she was the one making too much noise.
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