This lateral has about thirty bunks that were prepared for some of the Bataan nurses. Having to share bunks is only for a few days or until other arrangements can be made. I am fortunate in that my bunk mate, Lucy Wilson is of small proportions. We manage to sleep fairly well. Because the air is stale, we all have headaches followed by a common cold. It is simply heavenly to get out for a breath of fresh air between air raids. Since we spend most of the time on duty, we rarely get outside. At the most the hospital can accommodate only six or seven hundred patients.
The laterals resemble pullman coaches, but certainly not elaborate ones. Bunks are two and three tiers high on cach side of the tunnel and are separated by a very narrow passageway down the center. The vibration caused by the bombing and shelling gives me the feeling of train sickness and nausea. The old solar plexus really goes into action when the “Nips” are letting us have it. I hate being hemmed in like a trapped animal; as in Bataan, I prefer to take my chances out in the open. I think I have a touch of claustrophobia.