Blood Stoppers in Action

By Elton Camp (Set in the rural South during the early 20th Century.) Of the many home remedies, some helped, most did nothing, but a few worsened the situation. Even as is true today, most conditions are self-limiting. Problems generally get better, with or without treatment, by the natural healing process or the action of the immune system. If folk medicine was used, it was given credit for the cure. If the person died, it was held to be Gods will. In such a case, nothing could have changed the outcome. Who could overcome the will of the Deity? A spiders web placed across the wound was used to treat bleeding from external injuries. The web material provided a framework to trap platelets and speeded the natural clotting process. If the procedure didnt introduce infection, it might help control minor bleeding. Some injuries were severe. When Birdie gashed her hand while chopping firewood, Belle found the usual remedies to be inadequate to solve the problem. Maw, hit hurts n Im afeerd thet Ill bleed t death, Birdie whined. As blood continued to ooze from the deep cut, Belle became increasingly alarmed. Something had to be done. Leamon, hitch up th wagn. Wes takin Birdie t see Miz Helen, she directed. The use of Miz with the first name of a woman, married or single, indicated familiarity, but a high degree of respect. Miz Helen was reputed to have the power to stop bleeding merely by reading a verse from the Bible. The blood stopper, accustomed to such visits, hurried to the wagon when they pulled into her yard. Let me see thet hand, chile. She wanted to help. After examining the injury and giving Birdie a reassuring hug, she rushed back into her house and returned with a well-thumbed copy of the King James Version of the Bible. Turning to Ezekiel 16: 6, she walked toward the east as she read the verse, but substituted the youngsters name in place of thee. And when I passed by Birdie, and saw Birdie polluted in thine own blood, I said unto Birdie when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto Birdie when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

Within an hour, the bleeding slowly diminished and finally stopped. To assert that natural mechanisms, with the passage of time since the injury, had controlled the blood loss wouldve been futile. The result spoke for itself. If Birdie had bled to death, the explanation wouldve been that it was her time to go. It was a no win situation for medical correctness. The simple faith of rural people sustained them. Thanky, Miz Helen. God bless yu, Belle uttered. Tears filled her eyes as she hugged the blood stopper. No payment was offered and none was expected. Miz Helen believed that she had a free gift and she gave freely. The days experience would be repeated many times, strengthening sincere belief in the womans healing powers. Another elderly woman in the McLarty community used a different technique to end bleeding. It wasnt necessary that the victim be present. When informed of a person in need of help, she held up both hands and called out, Upon Christs grave three roses bloom. Stop, blood, stop. There was no evidence to suggest that one technique worked any better than the other or that either one was any better than doing nothing.