Florence Nightingale
My story
The beginning of the story
“I was born in the year 1820 on the 12th of May , in Italy. Although this was the
case, I grew up in a large country house in England. People thought of me as queer
and different from other girls, but that’s how I wanted it to be. I waned to be different.
I didn’t want to do what other children did – I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied. No. I
had this idea that I would do something with my life, and I wouldn’t let it go.”
Home
Florence Nightingale was not an only child. She grew up with her sister Frances
Parthenope (known as Pop) who was named after an Italian town like Florence.
Although they were sisters, very different sisters they were. From a young age, Florence
wanted to learn, to lead a good life. Because she had high ambitions and was neat,
orderly and liked everything to be in place, it wasn’t surprising that she was clever and
liked history and maths.
Family
“My sister Parthenope wasn’t like me at all. She didn’t concentrate in lessons like I
did. All she wanted to do was mess around – I don’t know why. She was always trying
to distract me by pushing around my pencils, stealing my rubber and tipping all of the
pencil sharpeners on my lap. But I would not be distracted.
“Wherever I went, I always had a book in my hands, and people called me a
bookworm. All Parthenope wanted to do was play, so this frustrated her a lot.”
High Ambitions
Florence had high ambitions. Deep down in her heart, she knew that her future
depended on her and what she did during her childhood, and she decided that she’d make
the most of her chances of a good life. Over time, Florence’s belief in what she wanted
to do as an adult grew and grew. She wanted to be different from others. Living a
romantic life would be alright, but it would feel so commonplace after pouring over
hundreds of books. No. She wanted to help the less able and work as a nurse.
Dreams
“My family didn’t approve. All they wanted me to do was to get a good education,
marry well and have children. But I knew that I wouldn’t be satisfied. I felt that after
all those years of hard work and diligence, my destiny lay in something greater. Against
the desires of my parents, my belief in god lead to a growing conviction that nursing was
to be my vocation. I had this idea that I would do something with my life, and I
wouldn’t let it go.”
Good work leads to good future
Because Florence stuck to her books, wouldn’t change her course, wouldn’t give in, she
finally achieved what she wanted. At last, she was offered a chance .
Women didn’t train to be nurses at that time – but Florence had other ideas. She wouldn’t
let men have power over all of the women – after all, Florence was very feminine. Because
once she had this idea that she would do something with her life, she wouldn’t let it go.
Goal achieved
“Finally, my goal was achieved. My target was met. I reached my aim. Because I
had worked especially hard all those previous years, I was offered a chance, and I
snatched it.
“Eventually, I was asked to train some women who, like me, wanted to work as nurses
during the Crimean war. As always, I wanted everything to be neat and orderly, so I
trained my nurses well, making sure they did correctly.
I wonder what the hospital in
Turkey will be like when the nurses
and I reach there…
Arrivals
Even Florence felt a little apprehensive when the nurses left Germany to go to Turkey, but
when they arrived, it was worse than she had imagined.
The horrible stench of sickness and filth crept up the nurses’ noses, making them cough and
sneeze. But Florence knew that if she let herself down, she’d never be able to forgive herself.
So as soon as the nurses arrived, they set off to work.
A shocking experience
“Goodness gracious! What a day this has been. The hospital is worse than I
expected – and it was horrible having to see the poor soldiers lying on the cold stone
floor, not having a comfortable bed or proper food. Everything looked appalling –
including the soldiers. The poor things were undressed, covered in blood, surrounded by
unhygienic conditions. There were lice and maggots crawling around everywhere and
horrid wounds covered in flies. This is going to be hard work.”
Work, work, work
This was Florence’s chance to prove what she could really do. The whole place was “a
hell on Earth!” as Florence called it, and it would definitely take some time to sort out,
but she decided she’d do the best she could do.
Florence was indeed, VERY strict and made sure the nurses did their job perfectly.
They swept floors, scrubbed doors, smoothed out new sheets until everything was neat,
orderly and hygienic. Every inch, every corner, every crevasse was spotless.
Finally
“At last, everything was how I expected it to be. Clean, hygienic and orderly. All of
the soldiers had comfortable beds, along with fluffed up pillows, snuggly blankets and
soft, springy mattresses. It was perfect.
“I made sure that all of the nurses were very tender, very gentle with the soldiers,
because I wouldn’t take negligence. Everything was as expected now, so why ruin it?”
Florence’s nursing
Florence Nightingale might have been very strict with the nurses, but she herself was
a kind, caring nurse, always there when the soldiers needed her. So it was no surprise
that the poorly men liked Florence the best. Florence knew that her duty was to do the
best that she could do with the soldiers, so she did exactly that. Because of her hard
work, some soldiers who would have died were getting a lot better. Florence was very glad
that she stuck to her books!
In the night
“I worked especially hard with the soldiers – even in the night, while the other nurses were
asleep. I walked amongst the soldiers’ beds, checking if they were alright, an if they called
my name, I took hold of their hand gently and comforted them. Because it was at night, I
always took a lamp with me, so the soldiers started calling me “The Lady with the Lamp”.
I sat with them if they wanted, read stories to them, so they all liked me. But the main
reason I did this was because I wanted all of them to get better.
Satisfaction
Soon, Florence was satisfied with her work. All of the soldiers were nearly ready to
leave – some of them already able to leave the hospital. The joy of seeing the soldiers
leave the hospital was indescribable – because when they left, Florence knew at once that
she had done her job, done her duty.
After the war ended, Florence stayed at the hospital until every single soldier was able
to leave. This was definitely something to be proud of.
What will happen
when I get back to
England? Will my
parents be happy to see
me? What will my
sister be doing?
MEAN
Fame
“Oh my goodness! What is this all meant to mean? Why am I so famous? Is it
because of my work at the hospital in Turkey? It must be. People say that I’m an
influential lady and that I deserve to be famous. People might think that being famous
is perfectly normal – I don’t know why – but to me, being famous is just being
surrounded by people all of the time and being plain embarrassed.
The soldiers in the hospital had a pet tortoise called Jimmy. You can see his shell
in the Florence Nightingale Museum in London.
Florence herself had a pet owl called Athena.
Florence hated being famous – she called it “the fuzbuz about my name!”
Among the medicines she had in her wooden medicine box, Florence had some
powdered rhubarb!