The Man Who Chased a Dream and Broke His Leg
Nick Haley’s delirious pursuit of an imaginary kidnapper led him out a second-story window—a bizarre accident that highlights the strange intersection of mental health, domestic anxiety, and medical care in early Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Nick Haley, the victim of a nightmare, who dreamed that someone was stealing his beloved child and who walked out of a second story window and broke his leg in pursuit of the imaginary kidnapper, has successfully factored his leg. It is still in plaster-of-paris, but Mr. Haley was determined to go home to be near his dear baby, though he had to be taken thither on a stretcher.
This brief hospital report offers a poignant glimpse into the pre-psychiatric era's handling of acute mental distress. While today we might recognize this as a psychotic break or severe anxiety disorder requiring professional intervention, Haley’s story is framed with a touch of human interest rather than stigma; he is portrayed not as a criminal or a madman, but as a devoted father driven to desperate action by fear for his child.
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