Germany
Apr. 9, 1945
Darling,
Things have pursued the even tenor of their ways. We have been working a twelve hour shift, and have been relatively busy. With two anaesthetists, I can grind out quite a bit of work. Yesterday, for example, we did 25 operations, ranging from minor to major cases. Today we only did 12, but they were all more complicated and difficult. I did a successful suture-repair of a popliteal artery injury. These are very pleasing to accomplish, as it means saving a boy's leg for him. Arterial and vascular surgery in this war is perhaps one field where we have failed to do as well as we should. Too many limbs have been lost because we have not had the leadership and available supplies to successfully tackle these problems. For example, in the Gen. Hosps. heparin is not available. We have no tantalum tubes. I should hazard that we do little better now than in the last war, although we should have profited from their experiences, and the accumulated experience of the 30 year interim. Many surgeons I have seen have a pessimism and "shrug-the shoulders" attitude which, to me, is deplorable if we are to make progress. I think this problem could be solved if someone higher up began to carry the torch for us.
Tonite was an evening cool and clear. Red and I took a little tour on his motorbike as the sun set. He has it running nicely and it was fun, exhilarating fun, to speed along over the flat plains with the birch groves purple in the evening air. Motorcycling gives one the exciting freedom of the spirit not unlike skiing. Not equal to flying, though. When he gets the brakes fixed, it will be less unpredictable, but safer.
H