I don't know how to tell you this but I have been going in and out of the hospital for a while now because of a recurring infection. Do not worry, I am alright. There are so many more people worse of than I am at the hospitals. I see people without limbs either because they have been blown off by explosions or because the doctors had to amputate them. Pretty much all men in the hospitals fit under one of four categories: gas injuries, shell shock, diseases or wounds.
Injuries caused by poison gases are painful. The gases cause skin to blister, sores and internal and external bleeding. A person's lungs would fill up with fluid and the person will die suffocating. Because of the lack of hygiene, most cuts get infected and there is little the doctors could do. Influenza, intestinal flu and trench foot are all commonly seen diseases and again, the doctors and nurses are limited in what they could do.
However, sometimes soldiers suffer from mental illness rather than physical. While some soldiers adjust to living among rats, rotting corpses and exploding shells, others do not and they suffer from the mental illness known as "shell shock." This causes patients to be hysterical, disoriented, paralyzed and incapable of following orders. Again, there was little the doctors could due to address these issues.
Also, one thing I noticed was that there was a shortage of doctors and that medical workers work at least 14-hour shifts in order to address the large amounts of soldiers being brought in all the time.
I can only hope to maintain my good health so that I may see you and our boys some time soon in the future.
Love,
George Wright
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Sources:
http://ncpedia.org/wwi-medicine-battlefield
http://www.slideshare.net/WW1C/medical-services-world-war-i
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