Thread by @WillMcAvoyACN

So, tonight I'd like to talk about James A. Garfield. I realize that isn't a statement that is said very often, but I think there might something we can learn from his life, or, more accurately, his death.

And I'm not talking about his assassination by an entitled charlatan who demanded a position he was not qualified for, and became convinced that the only way to stop infighting from his political party. Instead, I'm going to talk about what happened AFTER he was shot.

After Garfield was shot he was taken to an office where he was laid on a mattress, before being moved back to the White House at Garfield's request. The doctor who took charge was not using sterilized equipment or hands when he began exploring the wound.

It should be noted that Joseph Lister's work on anti-septic surgery was known at the time, though it wasn't well received in America.

Garfield was given morphine for the pain. He was not able to stand again, but he was able to sit up and complete paperwork.

Alexander Graham Bell, yes, that Alexander Graham Bell, came to the White House with his new invention: A metal detector. The device had been successfully used to locate bullets in others in the past but because of the interference of the lead doctor he was unable to on Garfield.

The lead doctor was Willard Bliss, who was an old friend of Garfield's and a control freak who was paranoid that he would be replaced as being in charge of Garfield's recovery. So he limited where and how Graham Bell could use his metal detector.

Bliss was convinced that the bullet was located in a specific area of the body, so when Bell came back for a second attempt and the device made a sound in the area Bliss thought the bullet was lodged, Bliss assumed he was correct even though Bell said it wasn't the usual sound.

Garfield's wound became infected and an abscess formed. Believing the bullet to be located near the wound (it was not) based on Bliss's conclusions, doctors probed the wound, likely making the infection even worse. Garfield's health took a turn for the worse.

Garfield was still President, but he was largely unable to fulfill his duties. It eventually became clear that he would not survive the infection and he left Washington to retire to what would become his deathbed.

Some believe that Garfield died as a result of the infection from common medical practice at the time. Others believe that when attempting to locate and remove the bullet, they punctured his gall-bladder.

Either way, Garfield died at age 49. Chester A. Arthur became President.