From handmaiden to right hand—World War I and Advancements in Medicine

AORN Journal, Nov, 2004 by Victoria L. Holder

A NURSE'S STORY

Casualty Clearing Stations

Helen Fairchild was a young woman from Milton, Pa, who graduated from the Pennsylvania Hospital nursing school in 1913. She had been practicing nursing for only a few years when the United States joined World War I. Within a few weeks, Fairchild and 63 other nurses from Pennsylvania Hospital volunteered to serve with the American Expeditionary Force in France.'

When they arrived, Fairchild and the other nurses were assigned to Base Hospital No 10, a 2,000-bed facility in Le Treport, France. Within days of arriving at the hospital Fairchild and the other nurses were faced with the arrival of a large convoy of patients who had been subjected to mustard gas. Within two days, more than 600 casualties arrived at the station, all in excruciating pain and suffering the devastating effects of the poisonous gas. It was the nurses' task to care for these men who had eyes swollen with discharge, bodies covered with blisters, and the pain that came with these injuries. Many of the patients had trouble breathing and could barely speak; their Lungs were filling with their own body fluids as they coughed up blood. (2)

Shortly thereafter, Fairchild was assigned to a surgical team that was stationed 100 mites from the base hospital. Casualty Clearing Station No 4 was near the fighting at Passchendaele, which was one of the fiercest conflicts of the war, tasting three months.

In her Letters home, Fairchild described the deplorable conditions the nurses had to endure. Their quarters were tents with dirt floors, and the constant rain, mud, and bitter cold of France was a difficult environment. The nurses had very few personal supplies, and it was difficult for them to keep their clothing dry. There was no heat in their tents, and they often used hot water bottles to keep warm. Fairchild credited the American Red Cross and the Young Men's Christian Association with providing what few comforts the nurses and patients had. (1)

Casualty clearing stations, such as the one where Fairchild served, often were Located adjacent to the army camps, gunlines, and depots, which were Legitimate military targets. (3) In November 1917, Fairchild was exposed to mustard gas, which Left her with severe abdominal pains. She continued to work despite her discomfort, but in December 1917, a barium x-ray examination revealed a Large gastric ulcer obstructing her pylorus. Although she had a history of abdominal pain before she volunteered for the war, her physicians believed her symptoms probably had been exacerbated by the mustard gas. (1)

Fairchild underwent a gastroenterostomy procedure with chloroform anesthesia in January 1918. (1) Although she did weft immediately postoperatively, within three days, she began to deteriorate with jaundice and died in a coma on Jan 18, 1918. Her death was attributed to "acute atrophy of the Liver." (1) Speculation suggests that this may have been due to hepatic complications from the anesthesia. (1)

(1.) N Fairchild Rote, "Nurse Helen Fairchild: My aunt, my hero," Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine 131 (November 1997) 668. Also available at http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/specoll/med ical/MaMh/MyAunt.htm (accessed 22 Sept 2004).