‘Prepare him for theatre, nurse. I’m afraid this leg will have to be amputated.’ Harry wearily straightened from a young soldier’s bed and managed a small smile for Holly.
‘But he’s so young,’ Holly whispered as she gently sponged the boy’s feverish brow.
‘It’s gangrene and it’s gone too far for me to do anything,’ Harry answered. ‘It’s either his leg or his life, which do you think he’d prefer?’
‘Oh, I wasn’t questioning you, doctor,’ she assured him hastily, hearing the note of irritation in his voice.
‘Sorry.’ He knuckled his tired eyes. ‘I’m just shattered. Still, once we’ve got this boyo sorted I might be able to snatch a few hours’ sleep. I’ll leave you to it now while I go and ask them to get theatre ready.’
She watched him walk away and sighed. All of them were worn out and with still more casualties arriving daily she wondered how the hospital was going to cope. They had already had to ask for help from the Nuneaton and Hartshill Red Cross nurses to provide the extra staff but soon they wouldn’t be able to squeeze any more beds into the wards. The young man in the bed winced then and when she looked down at him she saw that his eyes were open.
‘I heard the doctor say somethin’ about goin’ to theatre?’ he said in a shaky voice. ‘Was he talkin’ about me?’
Holly nodded, not sure what she should tell him. How did you tell someone, who until recently had been young and active, that he was about to have a limb amputated?
‘But why?’ His eyes were tight on her and she felt hot colour creeping up her neck into her cheeks.
‘I think it might be best if I get Matron to come and explain,’ she told him and before he could object she hurried off to find her.
They arrived back at the bedside within minutes to find the young man anxiously waiting for them. ‘What’s wrong? What are they gonna do to me?’ he asked.
Matron gently laid her hand on his arm. ‘I’m afraid your leg is gangrenous below the knee,’ she told him in a hushed voice. ‘And the only way we can prevent the infection from spreading is to remove it.’
Stark fear shone in his eyes as his head wagged from side to side. ‘NO! I ain’t havin’ me leg off,’ he protested. ‘I’m too young to be a cripple. Me life will be over.’
‘I’m afraid if you don’t you will die,’ she told him bluntly but still he shook his head.
‘I won’t give you permission to do it,’ he protested strongly. ‘I don’t wanna be butchered.’ At that moment they spotted his girlfriend standing at the end of the ward. She had come to see him every day since he had been there.
‘Let’s talk to your girl and see what she has to say about it,’ Matron suggested, and minutes later the girl, a pretty, petite blonde, was at the side of the bed holding his hand tightly as Matron explained the position to her. Tears trickled down her cheeks but when she turned to the young man lying on the bed her voice was strong.
‘You must let them do it, I’d rather have you with a leg missing than not at all.’
‘What? You mean you’d still want me?’
‘Of course I would.’ She smiled at him through her tears. ‘Lots of people learn to cope with only one leg and you’re strong. You’ll do the same.’
He stared at her for a long moment before slowly nodding. ‘Very well, go ahead.’
Matron led his young lady away to wait anxiously as Holly quickly prepared him for theatre but her heart was heavy as the full implications of the effect the war was having on so many people came home to her. Here was a young man with his whole life in front of him who from now on would never be able to do some of the things he had done before. And yet he was one of the lucky ones. At least he had come home. Many had died already and now the sight of the boy pedalling furiously along the streets to deliver telegrams to inform mothers and wives that their loved ones would never return struck fear into the hearts of everyone who saw him.
‘You look tired,’ Ivy remarked when Holly arrived home late that evening.
‘I am tired.’ Holly dropped onto the nearest chair and wiped her weary eyes. They felt as if they were full of grit and her legs ached from being on them all day.
‘I’ll go an’ make you a nice hot mug of milk. It’ll help you sleep,’ Ivy volunteered kindly.
Holly snorted. ‘Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need any rocking off tonight. I reckon I shall be out like a light the second my head hits the pillow.’ She eased her feet out of her shoes and wiggled her toes as she waited for Ivy to come back, then noticed that Ivy didn’t seem her normal cheery self.
‘Is Alice all right?’ she asked as she sipped at her drink.
‘Oh yes, she’s fine, tucked up safe and warm but …’
‘But what?’
Ivy sniffed. ‘Walter came round earlier and I heard him telling your gran’father that he thought Marcus might be thinking of enlisting.’
Holly wasn’t surprised. Marcus wasn’t the sort of young man who would want to be seen as a coward. ‘And would it bother you very much if he went?’
Ivy considered for a moment before nodding. ‘Actually, yes, it would. I mean I know I’m being silly thinking anything serious could ever come of our friendship. He’s from a well-to-do family an’ I’m just a maid wi’ an illegitimate daughter into the bargain … and yet I’ve grown fond o’ him. I didn’t realise quite how much till I thought of how I would feel if he went away.’
‘I think the war is doing a very good job of doing away with class distinction,’ Holly pointed out. ‘But what about your feelings for Jeremy? You were so devastated when he left you.’
Ivy shrugged. ‘I think I just had my head turned by all the attention an’ flattery he gave me,’ she admitted. ‘I’d never really had much to do wi’ chaps until he came along an’ he just sorta swept me off me feet. To be honest, I think I always knew he weren’t the man I’d thought he was, but by the time I finally admitted it to meself, Alice were on the way so I didn’t know how I could walk away from him.’
Holly smiled at her sympathetically. It seemed that the path to true love wasn’t going to be a smooth one for either of them. Her hand unconsciously rose to touch the ring hanging on the chain about her neck beneath her blouse and she sighed. She’d accepted that Richard was a part of her past, but it didn’t stop her missing him and somehow she couldn’t bring herself to take it off even though her relationship with Harry was slowly developing into something a little more than friendship. He was a good man and she knew that more than a few nurses at the hospital would have given anything to be in her position, yet still she couldn’t feel for him as she had for Richard.
‘I dare say everything will sort itself out in the end,’ she said.
Ivy sighed. ‘Hmm, I dare say it will.’
When Holly arrived at the hospital the next day she found Matron waiting for her. ‘Ah, Nurse Farthing, could I have a word, please.’
Holly followed her into her office where the matron asked her, ‘I was wondering if you would do some of the house calls that Dr Nason and Dr Phillips usually do? As you’re aware we are having to limit the number of people we admit to keep the beds for the military wounded and both Dr Nason and Dr Phillips are having to spend so long in theatre they simply don’t have time to visit people. Most of the calls would be dealing with coughs and colds, childhood illnesses like chickenpox and measles, and boils that need to be lanced. I know you are more than capable of handling things like that, although I would of course expect you to use your discretion, and if you thought that someone really needed to be admitted you must report back to me immediately. I think by doing this it would give you far greater experience in the practical side of nursing because I know when you are on the wards a lot of your time is spent giving bed baths and emptying bedpans. What do you think, nurse? Would be prepared to give it a trial? It would help enormously.’
Holly stared at her warily. ‘But what if I went out to someone and I wasn’t sure what was wrong with them? I’d hate to give a wrong diagnosis in case anything went wrong.’
‘In that event you would of course consult with myself or one of the doctors and if need be they would go out with you. In fact, until you are feeling a little more confident I would prefer that you erred on the side of caution. And of course we wouldn’t dream of sending you out on your own to a patient who we thought was seriously ill.’
‘In that case I suppose I could see how I go on,’ Holly agreed cautiously.
Matron beamed. ‘Excellent. As it happens I’ve already made you a list of the people I wish you to visit and they all appear to have fairly straightforward symptoms. Come along with me and I’ll make you up a bag of things you may need.’
Holly dutifully followed Matron to the medicine cabinet and listened carefully as she explained what each of the drugs she placed in the black bag were for.
‘Now, when you’ve completed the house calls I’d like you to report back to me with the symptoms of each of the patients you have seen. I am quite aware that you are on foot so it will take you some time to get from one patient to another, so I shall leave it to you to work out your own route, but I thought that if you are happy doing this for now we might be able to find you a bicycle to speed things up a little for you. Have you ever ridden a bicycle, nurse?’
Holly grinned. ‘Not since I was little but I’m told that once you’ve ridden one you never forget so I dare say I could manage.’
‘Excellent.’ Matron produced a list of names and addresses and after perching her gold-rimmed glasses on the end of her nose she stabbed her finger at one address.
‘This Mrs Murdoch lives in the courtyards in Abbey Street. She reports that three of her children have a rash. It sounds like chickenpox or measles to me. That might be a good place to start as it’s fairly central but as I said I’m quite happy to leave it up to you. Now, is there anything you need to ask me?’
Holly shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘In that case I suggest you make a start, nurse.’ And with that Matron handed her the loaded bag and Holly set off with the list of patients gripped in her hand wondering just what on earth she had let herself in for.