Chapter Twenty - Reunion
Over the next few days, the nurse anxiously inspected Albert’s leg.
“Look, the small veins and arteries are taking up the work of the large one,” she said. “The foot continues to thrive.”
While Albert was recuperating, he watched the stretcher-bearers bringing in the new casualties and taking out those transferring to a hospital or those who had died. Mainly it was those who had died. Some from their injuries, but many from ‘la grippe’.
Stretcher bearers brought in one soldier, caked in mud and blood. He had a badly swollen face, a hole in the back of his head, and his brains were protruding. He ended up spending the night in the bed next to Albert, who overheard the doctor’s assessment.
“He’s paralysed down his right side, and he has broken his left arm in se
