I have to admit, I knelt down by the bed, held her hand, and looked into her eyes, but I couldn't watch that needle. Odd how women seem able to bear more pain in "normal" circumstances (childbirth, etc.) and men are such babies, yet men in wartime somehow manage to suck it up. One of those "mysteries" that Paul talked about in the Bible.
I've never been in a war so I don't know what goes on in the mind of soldiers but, for me, the thing that usually gets me through painful physical events is anger. I get p*ssed off and the idea of beating the crap out of my tormenter pulls me through. You can't do this in a medical setting! I think women are more capable of taking physical pain without responding.