Mission Scapula

Chapter 10

One night early January or February, I can't remember the exact date, I was on nights with 'Pluto, now I remember his name was Albert Reeson, and Jock another medic. All was quiet, about 2 o'clock their was such a racket coming from the morgue, half an hour before we had taken a man from 'X' ward who had died placed him into a box and put him their. We looked at one another and believe you me we all thought that we had done the unthinkable and somehow put someone alive into a box. This could have been possible, very remotely possible, because during the night we had only one 25 watt bulb for a light to take the pulse and to find if a person was living or dead. We had to stand above the patient, feet ether side of him between bodies on the platform find the correct arm, then check again with a mirror to the mouth, bend over and try to listen to the chest. With daylight coming and the round of cleaning began it was not uncommon to find that some of our patients had slipped away to peace.

However after plucking up courage we went to have a look. We were to find that someone had sneaked in, taken the empty boxes from the hall, emptied the dead out of their boxes, and made off with the wood. It was a case of the living needing, the dead did not. Continues

Chapter 30

Captain Kuwajima had prepared everything, including the local anaesthetic to be used. Dr Brennans job was just to inject it, and then it was up to beloved Dr Kuwajima. I could see everything in the reflected light above the operating table, what's more I could feel everything too. I don't know what anaesthetic was supposed to be but it might well have not been used.

The pain of the first few cuts were made were unbelievable and I know I screamed, although afterwards I felt as if in a dream. Then I suppose the pain was just to much, as I went completely numb.  I watched as the perineum was tied off, severed then removed. He brought it round with the forceps and took great delight in rubbing it in my face he said "That's your trouble". I've heard people say that when wounded that they did not feel the pain then but did so later, well I felt it all right, I can assure you.

Funnily enough the worse part though was the sewing up of the wound, this seemed to me never ending. Instead of layering the wound, that's taking the inner peritium and sewing that up, then the skin. All he did was to place about four stitches in, as if sewing a mail bag, just pulled the ends together as if tying a sausage. Continues