A man was received in No. 3, General Hospital: Diagnosis, epilepsy. He was shortly sent to the convalescent camp and then returned, having had two attacks. Russel watched for another attack, felt it was not genuine and “put the situation up to” the soldier whose story was as follows: He had been at the front without leave for twelve months since the German retreat. Leave was due him. A sister’s letter said his brother was severely wounded and his mother was praying for his return. When he thought these things over an attack came. He could, however, control the attacks. Russel told him, if he would play the game, he would be sent to the base with a recommendation for leave. In ten days the man was remarkably changed and had no further attacks.
Hereditary epileptic taint brought out by two years service with eventual shell-shock and burial thrice in one day.
Case 80. (Hurst, March, 1917.)
A private, 24, in the army from 16, never epileptic (sisters epileptic), was wounded four times in the war from September, 1914. Shell fire did not worry the man, but he gradually became depressed after his father and five brothers had died in active service. He was blown up and buried three times in one day in July, 1916. He was unconscious for two hours after the second blowing up, but carried on for two hours more until blown up for the third time.
After this, he became nervous and shaky, and began to sleep badly, and a month later had a typical attack of major epilepsy. Fits occurred with increasing frequency. As many as 19 occurred in a single day. Rest and bromides caused the fits to cease, and there had been none for six weeks at the time of his discharge.
Re the extraordinary delay in the bringing out of this epileptic’s taint, refer back to [Case 76] of Bonhoeffer, with its discussion, and to another case of Hurst ([64]).
Re Shell-shock and its relations to epilepsy, see below, discussion under [Cases 82-84] of Ballard, who has erected a theory of Shell-shock as in some sense epileptic.
Shell-shock: Epilepsia larvata.