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Everyone these days knows of the elevator that transports food on every floor of a hospital or of the call button. These things were invented and introduced into society in the middle of the 19th century.
Florence Nightingale was called the "Crimean Angel" after being the one who created these things.
Florence was born on May 12, 1820 into a wealthy home.
It was customary for girls of the upper class at that time to meet appropriate suitors and begin a happy family.
However, Florence believed that she was created by the heavens - "I am alive for the people suffering from illness." She wished to become a nurse.
Her parents vehemently refused her wish, as being a nurse was a profession not looked well upon at the time. Even so, "The word quit is not in my dictionary" were her final words as she left for Germany to study nursing.
In April of '53 she was working in a London hospital that was undergoing several improvements. In March of '54, England entered into the Crimean War.
In October of the same year, Florence left to the warfront to lead a team of 38 nurses.
Insufficient supplies, inadequate food, a lack of fuel. A breakout of cholera and hives. Even so, one by one she helped everyone.
She helped to repair facilities, improve the food, and gather materials. The thing that the soldiers appreciated more than anything was that she held each of their hands and kept their spirits up.
She made extra rounds at night and afterwards continued to write a large volume of letters. Her letters were to the families of soldiers, reporting the status of each individual or gently notifying them of a death.
She worked over 20 hours a day. Sometimes soldiers mistook that there were multiple people named Nightingale because of how much time and how hard she worked.
However, some medical military personnel grew jealous of her hard work and new methods,and intentionally interfered with her in order to protect their ways of old.
She wrote in a letter back to her home country, "The most painful thing of all is to be around people who only look out for themselves or avoid responsibility."
After the end of the war in August 1856, Florence returned home and began work on improving the military's treatment methods.
In '60, the Nightingale Nursing School was established.
Florence took great interest in speaking to the graduates of the nursing school, using analogies such as, "Even the seeds from the smallest of trees can bloom into an entire forest."
She died peacefully in her sleep on August 13, 1910.
Florence Nightingale ? the woman who battled against and improved quality in the ways of the old. The woman who changed what nursing was about.
Change is brought about in time when there is someone with the courage to make a difference.
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| This content is a revision of material that appeared in a newspapge in April 2003. |
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