Friday, 24 March 2017

Poem ~ War Surgery - Saturday, 24 March 1917


Source: File: Wounded undergoing operations WWI. See an original image at: <http://history-help.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ww1_hospital.jpg> [Accessed 24 March 2017]

Amid progressive developments
Created by situation of the war,
Were attempts by medicine 
In order to treat severe wounds.

A son of the MP James O'Grady,
Trade unionist of Labour Party,
Was given cutting edge surgery,
Badly injured some months prior.

Severity mean that an arm had
To be amputated - the surgeon 
Did not leave it there, to cut
Part of the bone from the arm.

Doing this he made the attempt
To save the fellow's limb - an
Operation followed to reattach
Arm once more to the shoulder.

Severed tendons were sewn
Back together - this worked,
So the O'Grady soldier was
Able to lift a cup and drink tea.

The discernible difference was
To be that, the arm compared
To the other arm, was shorter;
The bone removed 2 1/2 inches.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1917. A Surgical Marvel. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 8 March 1917. P.6. Col.4. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12214364/Daily-Telegraph-March-8-1917.html> [Accessed: 24 March 2017].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 24 March 2017). 



#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1medicene

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