Vale Sean

Sadly, bat seven is dedicated to Sean McCarthy. Sean was killed in an IED attack on the car he was travelling in, driven by the author, two days into the first patrol. The Troop interpreter, Saeed Assad, lost a leg in the attack, while miraculously other occupants were escaped with comparatively minor injuries. The author was repatriated WIA to Australia with blast wounds to the lower legs, contracting a serious bone and blood infection that almost ended in amputation. This infection was likely transmitted from human faecal matter used by local farmers to fertilise their fields.