“Do you have
room for one more litter case?” the doctor asked. “Private Jenkins fell headlong
on a landmine. The nearest hospital’s in Cefalù, a long ambulance ride over
rough roads. By air he’ll be in Mateur in two hours. He needs a thoracic
surgeon.” Mellie
stared at the unconscious patient. He lay on a litter, his torso swaddled in
white gauze.Bloody streaks painted his face, arms, and
khaki pants. “We’re his only hope.”
My newest historical fiction series, Wings of the Nightingale, launched by With Every Letter (Revell, September 2012), follows three World War II flight nurses in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. During the war, the advent of medical air evacuation revolutionized the care of the wounded. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower credited air evacuation, sulfa drugs, penicillin, and the use of plasma and whole blood as key factors in the significant drop in the mortality rate among the wounded from World War I to World War II. Recently I wrote a series of guest posts about medical air evacuation on Redwood's Medical Edge. The first post details World War II air evacuation, the history, advantages, and planes used. The second post discusses the procedures for air evacuation through the eyes of a fictional patient on his air evacuation flight. And the last post introduces the flight nurse - her training, uniforms, duties, and the dangers she faced.
Did you learn anything new? Leave a comment for a chance to win a handmade "Mellie's First Aid Kit," stocked with bandages, antibiotic ointment, hand sanitizer, and - for true emergencies - Starbucks Via coffee.
Whew! The lack of ventilation, heat/AC, and pressurization doesn't make it sound like a pleasant ride. I'm surprised there was so little airsickness. And I'll think twice before complaining about the cramped conditions on today's commercial aircraft.
I love all the historic photographs! What a treat.
I never realized just how hard things were for women until I read your book. You would think it would have been a no brainer to have women nurses on board. You brought out so many things for my to consider, such as the way men treated women like they were in fact inferior to the men on those flights even though it was the care from the women that kept most of those men alive and most of all encouraged them and gave them hope. I LOVE your books!
I'm sure it was hot,sticky,smelly bumpy,exausthing,challenging...it's must if been wonderfull to be a pionner for women in aviation and in nursing. Still get weird look,s if you're a women in aviation today. Thank's for a wonderfull reading i've finish all four of your books in three week's cant wait for the next one!!!
I didn't realize how air pressure would be a factor in determining who was eligible for evacuation...and the heat and cold! a difficult job for many reasons...
I started reading With Every Letter over the weekend. (So nice to have a matching book mark to go with my book.) I'm enjoying the book so far and learning some history in the meantime, which was not my favorite subject in school. Thanks for the education that comes along with the pleasure of reading a good book.
I did not know Ike was involved. He is one of my favorite presidents and it was neat to see that he was involved.
ReplyDeleteWhew! The lack of ventilation, heat/AC, and pressurization doesn't make it sound like a pleasant ride. I'm surprised there was so little airsickness. And I'll think twice before complaining about the cramped conditions on today's commercial aircraft.
ReplyDeleteI love all the historic photographs! What a treat.
I never realized just how hard things were for women until I read your book. You would think it would have been a no brainer to have women nurses on board. You brought out so many things for my to consider, such as the way men treated women like they were in fact inferior to the men on those flights even though it was the care from the women that kept most of those men alive and most of all encouraged them and gave them hope. I LOVE your books!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it was hot,sticky,smelly bumpy,exausthing,challenging...it's must if been wonderfull to be a pionner for women in aviation and in nursing. Still get weird look,s if you're a women in aviation today. Thank's for a wonderfull reading i've finish all four of your books in three week's cant wait for the next one!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize how air pressure would be a factor in determining who was eligible for evacuation...and the heat and cold! a difficult job for many reasons...
ReplyDeleteI started reading With Every Letter over the weekend. (So nice to have a matching book mark to go with my book.) I'm enjoying the book so far and learning some history in the meantime, which was not my favorite subject in school. Thanks for the education that comes along with the pleasure of reading a good book.
ReplyDelete