The Treatment

To say he had a varied career is an understatement.  Ern Smith worked at the pulp and paper mill in Corner Brook, as a relief worker, an undertaker, a locksmith, fire chief. He was paid for this work but his efforts in the medical field were unpaid. Ern fancied himself able to diagnose and advise his family, friends and acquaintances on medical matters. He had seen enough during his time as a relief worker that he thought he knew as much as the local doctors.

The reality of it was that Ern was a capable man and he had seen a great deal of suffering during his working life. He could have been a medical doctor if he had the opportunity during his early adulthood. He was intelligent, perceptive, intuitive and an avid reader. He could have been a good doctor. Regardless, as he aged, Ern put his vast experience to use and was quick to advise everyone about their health issues. 

Neighbours came to Ern for help rather than pay a Doctor. On one occasion, a woman from the neighbourhood came to him about her son who was having an asthma attack. Ern went with her to the boy who was in a panic, trying to breathe. He directed the mother to get steam going and helped the boy calm down. 

Another time, the youngest Smith daughter, Marie, had a sore throat and a rash. Ern called the family Doctor and reported that his daughter had scarlet fever. The Doctor called in a prescription to the pharmacy for Marie based on Ern's diagnosis.

Ern had his own treatment for cuts which he used on everyone. Once his wife, Bessie, cut the heel of her thumb so badly that the flesh was hanging on by a thin strip. Ern put molasses on the cut and stuck the skin to it. He wrapped it with old flour sack material. The cut healed perfectly. 

Doctor Jim Yarn of Corner Brook was a family friend of the Smiths and Ern's doctor. On one occasion when Ern was in hospital near the end of his life, his daughter, Marie, was headed in to see him. As she entered the hospital, she met Doctor Yarn on his way out. 

              Dr. Jim Yarn

"How is Dad doing today, Jim?"

"Oh, he's starting to feel a bit better. He's treating all of the patients on the ward today."