Brewster 'A Glimpse of War through a Private's Eyes', a retrospective account of experiences in World War I, 1915-1917 / John James Brewster - Page 250
You are here
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 250]
the pain was caused by the poison in the wound & should be more poignant near the wound itself & not at the spot denoted by the Sentry. The process of pulling a piece of rag through the "Sinus" (the passage between the place of entrance of the piece of shrapnel & its place of exit) was stopped & it was kept open & clean by the use of the syringe. The complaint of the patient as to the seat of the pain eventually was looked upon by both the Doctor as "unnecessary" & misleading.
As weeks went by & the arm appeared to be getting into a really very bad condition the Doctor (a second one, a Major, the other a Captain had gone to France) for days just looked serious & said nothing. At last one morning after a very exhaustive examination said I am afraid!, I am very much afraid there is nothing for it, but that the arm will have to be operated on!
By all means operate, said the Sentry, if you think it necessary, I have no objection to an operation provided, that, no matter what you find, or how you find the arm, that it will not be cut off.
The Doctor explained that if the poison as denoted by the swelling once goes past the shoulder nothing can save your life & the arm must be operated on before that takes place. Under no circumstances will I consent to have the arm cut off! said the sentry.
Alright said the Doctor I will leave it for two or three days more & the Sister was instructed accordingly.
However in the meantime the arm was again X Rayed & although even the Major in charge stated he was sure there must be something in the arm to cause its present condition he (like all the others) was considerably surprised to find the X Rays showed nothing. Before, this Major said, pointing to a spot, the X Rays will show something there, but after – he was disappointed.
On the second day after this examination while the Sister, when dressing the wound, was pressing at the Sentrys urgent request, the part where