Finding Themselves: The Letters of an American Amy Chief Nurse in the British Hospital in FranceStimson, Julia C. (Julia Catherine)
History
Finding Themselves: The Letters of an American Amy Chief Nurse in the British Hospital in France
Stimson, Julia C. (Julia Catherine)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
I knew where a whole batch of candles had been put for use at the next
air raid alarm, so I dashed for them, knowing I could get them more
quickly than by sending any one. They were not far away. In about two
minutes we had candles stuck on every available spot, and the operating
teams who had to stop dead and wait, began to go on. The orderly who
was working over a miserable acetylene lamp which is supposed to be all
right for emergencies, finally got it going. It is quite all right for
emergencies if you have about ten minutes in which to start it. A couple
of oil lanterns were brought and given to the patients who were on the
floor in the hall to hold, so that they would not be stepped on. The
ether bottles were moved as far away from the candles as possible so
that we would not have an explosion to add to our difficulties, the
doctors came in from working over the dead man, and we all “carried on.”
It was now near eight, and Capt. Rainey said when these cases are
finished that are on the tables, we will stop for dinner. A couple of
nurses who had had their dinner reported just about then and we set them
to cleaning instruments and boiling and fixing up. The others of us went
up to a belated supper by candle light. The night nurse and orderly for
the theatre hut came on duty just in time to help with the gruesome duty
to be done there, and supper was kept for the day nurses from there when
they should be able to get off.
By 8:30 we were back again refreshed by scrambled eggs and coffee. The
operations continued till 3 A.M. I sent one day nurse off about 10,
because I knew she would have to have a full day to-day and would need
to be at her preparations early. Another nurse and I left at 1:30 after
getting some of the night nurses’ supper which I had ordered heavily
reënforced. Another nurse left at 3 and one stayed all night. In these
last 24 hours there must have been 34 operations. I haven’t the exact
list here. I was on duty here in the office at 9:15 A.M. Two nurses did
not come on until noon, and the one who was up all night (as well as
being up all day yesterday too, though not working, as she was just
coming off night duty and had expected to sleep that night) has been
sleeping all day. I have just been notified that 160 more are to be
brought to us at 6 A.M. to-morrow. That 6 A.M. will mean some time
during the morning, for the convoys are almost always several hours
after they are scheduled.
One of the night Supervisors has just been telling me that last night,
after that patient died, before he had been taken out, he was of course
behind the screens, the patient in the next bed said to her, “Sister, is
my pal all right? I haven’t heard him speak for some time,” and she had
to tell him what had happened. But only this one and that very bad one
have died so far.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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