Nicholas Vass papers

The span of the Nicholas Vass diaries provide a glimpse of the life of a patient in long-term care at Maumee Valley Hospital in Toledo, where he was a resident for many years, due to numerous surgeries to try to alleviate his severe arthritis.

The diaries, written in spiral-bound stenographer notebooks, cover an initial summary of his hospitalization at St. Vincent's Hospital and treatments starting April 8, 1961 until July 8, 1962 when he entered Maumee Valley Hospital, continuing until just a month before his death.

He gives accounts of various procedures and medical treatments, medical personnel (doctors, nurses, aides, candy-stripers), visitors, other patients, trips out of the hospital, and outside events. While many entries are written in his hand, with noticeable deterioration of handwriting around mid-Nov 1964, some parts are probably dictated. One unusual feature is the inclusion of some random words in Hungarian, providing a hint at Vass's background.