Billy Stevens Trauma

Billy Stevens was just a regular teenage boy. He went to school, had friends that he consorted with, had parents who loved him. Life was normal for him. Until the war started. Hundreds of thousands of boys his age enlisted to fight for the cause. Despite his mother’s wishes, Stevens did too. He was hoping to find action, adventure, and glory on the battlefield. What he found instead was a trauma that he would never get over. Billy Stevens experienced many forms of trauma during his service in World War One. He was physically beaten, mentally scarred, and his life was socially changed. Despite all this, he managed to make it through with his life, although he would never be the same again. Billy Stevens and his unit was constantly under fire from either foot …show more content…
It burned everything it touched. Eyes. Skin. And it always found a way in.” (Elridge 57) Stevens was forced to spend four days in an infirmary recovering from his injuries, and another couple weeks at Base HQ resting. After this time, he returned to his unit to continue fighting. His fighting only then lasted for another year. On January 6th, 1918, Stevens’ war ended after he was hit by a German shell. The injuries sustained from the shrapnel was enough to permanently damage his arm and leg, nearly to the point of having to amputate them. Luckily for him, “The doctor who treated me insisted that he could reset them enough so that they would mend. I would always walk with a limp, and it would take time before I could use my left arm again, but at least I wouldn 't lose them.” (Elridge 119) This ensured that he would not be completely disabled, although he would have to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. All in all, it could have ended much worse for him physically. Not only was Billy Stevens afflicted with physical trauma, he state of mentality and humanity was also changed for the