The Women: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

The next morning, Frankie reports to Major Goldstein, who assigns her to the Neuro ward’s night shift, remarking on Frankie’s subpar nursing experience. The ward is filled with Stryker beds used for paraplegics and ventilators. Captain Ted Smith, the doctor who runs the ward, shows her around. Frankie is surprised to see a Vietnamese patient—Smith says they sometimes treat villagers. Every patient in the ward has brain damage. Smith laments that they can “save their bodies, but not their lives.” Frankie’s job will be to monitor their wound dressings and status until they can be transferred to the Third Field Hospital. Though Frankie’s lack of experience embarrasses her, Smith claims she has heart and promises that he can hone her skills.

In April, Frankie writes to Mom and Dad, sharing the lighter details of her job. She enjoys the quiet Neuro ward, where she can practice her skills and gain confidence. Frankie takes extra care with pain management, seeing every patient as Finley and speaking to them gently. One day, she cares for 19-year-old Private Jorge Ruiz, whose actions on the field saved his platoon. After introducing herself to the comatose man, she checks his wounds for infection. Two of the men Ruiz saved visit his bedside. They take a picture of Frankie and Ruiz to send the soldier’s mother. When her shift ends, Frankie avoids the mess and the O Club, heading straight home instead.

One morning, Ethel and Barb drag Frankie out of bed for a field trip. With no wounded incoming, they board a large truck with Captain Smith and several armed infantrymen, leaving the compound. Driving through the countryside, Ethel tells Frankie about MEDCAP—Medical Civic Action Program—which goes on outings to provide care to locals. Frankie photographs the country but becomes anxious when a soldier mentions snipers. The U.S. has strategically killed some vegetation so there are fewer places to hide. They arrive at a village built around a decrepit French villa. Again, a soldier cautions them against the Viet Cong (VC), who sometimes plant bombs on civilians—even children. Frankie wonders how to protect herself from invisible enemies.

The villagers are all very old or very young. An elderly Vietnamese man greets the medical team and gives them wine in gratitude. They set up stations in the old villa, and villagers come to the makeshift clinic to have various ailments treated. A five-year-old boy stands next to Frankie, waiting patiently until she’s treated everyone in line. Speaking no English, the boy leads Frankie deeper into the building, and she follows despite her fear of the VC. Inside a filthy room that smells of rot, Frankie discovers a teenage girl whose hand has been crushed and infected with gangrene. She calls for Captain Smith, who declares the girl’s hand is a roller injury from mill work.

Smith contemplates sending the girl to the Third Field Hospital, though the villagers probably won’t let her go. Her best chance of survival is amputation and antibiotics. Frankie tries to call Ethel, but Smith wants Frankie to assist. The boy runs at the sight of the saw. Smith administers morphine, and Frankie holds the girl while he amputates. After binding the wound, they see an elderly woman crying nearby. Using gestures, Frankie instructs the woman on how to care for her granddaughter’s wound. The little boy—presumably the girl’s brother—gifts Frankie a smooth stone. In return, she gives him her Saint Christopher medal. Frankie will carry the stone as a reminder to hope. Barb and Ethel commend Frankie’s work.