Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was a famous nurse. She wasn’t only a pioneer of modern nursing, but also a lifesaver hero. Florence Nightingale was born on 12th May of 1820 in Florence. Her family was well-known as a rich family in Florence, Italy. She lived in a huge house that was owned by her father and she had a sister, named Parthenope. Unlike her sister who lived glamorously, Florence was more diligent and helpful to others.

In 1837, she committed herself to nursing after she had a Christian divine calling. At that time, nursing was a poor career which was filled mostly by poor women. So her family disagreed with her decision to be a nurse. But her determination couldn’t be changed. To broaden her knowledge, Florence learnt about the medical world secretly at night.

In 1847, her father asked her to go for a vacation with the hope that Florence would change her mind. But Florence was determined so she went to Kaiserswerth to get training as a nurse there. On August 1853, she returned to London and got a job as a supervisor in an Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen.

Florence during the Crimean War

In 1854, there was the Crimean War which affected England and France, and Russia as their opponent. At that time, many soldiers died because there were no nurses to take care of them. After Florence heard the news, she registered herself as a volunteer. Then Florence with some other volunteers went to Scutari. There, she found that the situation was more horrible. The hospital was filled with wounded soldiers who were neglected without any treatment, blood everywhere, and many parts of bodies were just put outside the hospital as no one who wanted to bury them. Florence moved fast. She cleaned the hospital, arranged the wounded soldiers so they could get treatment, buried those useless parts of bodies and spent her money to buy bandages, and other necessities.

One day, she heard that there were many victims in the war. Florence waited for them but the number of the victims was less than she had heard before. The officer said that the rest would be sent in the next morning because it had been dark at that time. After she had heard that, Florence forced the officer to bring her to the battlefield. She said that the soldiers would have been dead if she hadn’t helped them right away. So they went there and took anyone who could be saved, even the Russians. During those days, there was war almost everyday. At night, by bringing a lantern, she looked for the living soldiers and brought them to the hospital. Every night, she took a lantern with her, to take care of them. From then on, she was well-known as The Lady with the Lamp.

On 29 November 1855, public told Florence that they had established the Florence Fund for nurse training. That organization was made as an appreciation from the British for Florence’s effort. By 1860, she set up Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery in London. When it was opened, there were many women registered and from then on the bad perception of being a nurse was changed. In 1860, Florence wrote Notes on Nursing and million of copies were sold around the world. In the following years, she was awarded The Royal Red Cross medal from Queen Victoria. In 1907 she became the first woman who was awarded The Order of Merit on her 87th of age. Florence Nightingale died on 13 August 1910 and she was buried in St. Margarets Church, East Wellow, Hampshire.

I choose Florence Nightingale as my hero because I am amazed with her determination to be a nurse. Although she was from a rich family, she wasn’t embarrassed to declare that she wanted to be a nurse even though at that time nursing was a poor career. If I were Florence, I would rather live happily with my family than choose nursing as my career. But she was different. Even though she got strong opposition from her family, she didn’t change her mind. Nevertheless she became more determined. Besides, she also showed her love to others who were in need by helping them without considering their status, even if they were her country’s opponents. Her love and efforts to help others, her contribution to the nursing world, her determination as well as her patience, have opened my eyes to respect and to be more helpful to others.

Florence Nightingale had died almost a century ago but her spirit to love others still affect the world until now. A true hero will never be forgotten, and neither will she.