Summary of Nightingale’s deeds

■Kind-hearted, giving up wealth

Father William and mother Fanny both have aristocratic blood. In the UK, they own two homes: Yinyou Cottage and Emperley Gardens. Every summer, when the sun is scorching, their family, like migratory birds, rushes to the "Yinyou Villa" to escape the summer heat; during the rest of the year, they live in Emperei Garden. In the spring and autumn, the whole family went to nearby London to visit relatives and friends, and they were very busy. Little Florence spent her childhood in a paradise-like environment.

However, what is strange is that her excitement is often not with her friends. She loves riding pony, chatting and playing with the kittens, puppies and birds around her. She enjoyed looking after them. Once, a little titmouse died. She wrapped the bird in a handkerchief and buried it under the pine tree in the garden. She also erected a small tombstone with an epitaph written on it——

Poor little tit/why did you die/the crown on your head/is so beautiful//but now/you are lying there/ignoring/indifferent to me

Since childhood Since childhood, she has been alone, not as naughty as ordinary children. She is stubborn and stubborn, sentimental, and seems to be too precocious. She grew up alone in the bustling world.

The Emperei Garden is prosperous, but the outside of the garden is in ruins. In 1842, the economy in Britain was extremely depressed, and hungry people flooded every corner. Florence wrote in her notes: No matter when, my heart can never let go of those suffering people...

In July 1843, it was the hot season, Nightinge When her family once again went to Yinyou Villa to spend the summer, she ignored her family's objections and went to help the poor around her. She was not afraid of being dirty and suffering, and spent more and more of her time in the patients' huts. Because many patients lacked food and clothing, she often forced her mother to give her some medicine, food, sheets, bedding, clothes, etc. She used these things to provide relief to the poor to meet their urgent needs. When it came time to return to Emperley Gardens, Florence didn't want to give up halfway. She wanted to stay there. But the mother believed that a daughter of a noble family should be able to make a difference in other things, and it was ridiculous to waste time caring for the poor. My father and sister also sided with my mother. Florence was isolated and helpless.

In the British mind at the time, dealing with all kinds of patients was very dirty and dangerous. People have always avoided talking about words like "hospital" and "nursing" because they are scary and embarrassing things. Due to backward medical standards, declining national strength, and frequent wars, hospitals in Britain after 1844 were almost synonymous with misfortune, decadence, squalor, and chaos. Lacking the necessary management, it sometimes resembles a madhouse. In Florence's view, the most unacceptable thing was not the horrific medical conditions mentioned above, but the bad reputation of the "nurses" in the hospital and their low quality.

In August 1845, Florence and her father went to Manchester to visit her sick grandmother. Because her grandmother's condition worsened and she was bedridden and lacked care, she stayed with her to take care of her. Soon, my grandmother's health improved greatly. Then Mrs. Gale, the old nanny, fell ill again. Florence rushed home again and took good care of the terminally ill Mrs. Gale. Until the old man died, Florence stayed by the bedside without leaving even a step.

In the autumn of this year, the plague was prevalent in the countryside near Emperley Gardens. Together with the local priest, Florence actively devoted herself to the work of caring for the sick. She has proven herself again and again, and her belief in life has become stronger.

At that time, people thought that nursing work was simple and no training was needed. In the past, even Florence herself believed that as long as she was patient and compassionate, she could help patients relieve their pain. This was what nursing was all about. One day, she saw a woman dying painfully in front of her. The patient took the wrong medicine. "She must have died with her eyes open. It was the caregivers who 'poisoned' her!" This thought greatly stimulated her. She knew from then on that nursing was an important subject. To realize her ideals, she had no choice but to learn this knowledge.

There is a clinic a few miles away from Emperley Gardens. The attending physician, Mr. Fuller, is quite famous. It is said that he graduated from Oxford University and is an old friend of the Nightingale family. Therefore, Florence planned to persuade her parents to give her some time and allow her to study in this clinic. It happened that the Fullers were invited to visit Emperley Gardens, so she proposed to become Fuller's teacher in front of her parents.

Unexpectedly, a storm broke out. The father walked away; the mother went crazy with anger, saying that she could no longer bear such weird thoughts; even the sister yelled hysterically, saying that the sister must be "possessed by evil spirits" - this not only loses her noble status, but also spreads germs. Bring it into the house and kill the whole family.

The Fullers were embarrassed. In order to appease the Nightingales, they had no choice but to "pour cold water" on Florence and persuade her to give up her idea.

Under the tremendous mental pressure, she gritted her teeth and did not give in. She began to secretly study hospital reports and government blue books. She also wrote privately to foreign experts (such as the Prussian Ambassador Benson and his wife) and asked them for advice on various issues. Moreover, from time to time, reports on investigations into the conditions of hospitals in Paris and Berlin were requested. Every morning, she studies for at least an hour. When the breakfast bell rang, she would quickly put away her books and go downstairs to eat as if nothing had happened. She looked well-behaved and tried not to mention her inner thoughts. Her mother asked her to take charge of organizing the storage room, pantry and wardrobe, and she did not dare to neglect at all. She hopes her mother will change her mind. She wrote to her friend Miss Clark: "I have to do a lot of housework. The clothes, quilts, glasses, and porcelain are buried up to my chin. They are simply boring. I can't help but ask myself: 'This is Life? Is this what a sensible person, a person who is willing to make a difference, wants to do every day? '"

She also received an olive branch of love. At a banquet, she met the young philanthropist Richard (it was his proposal to separate juvenile offenders from adult offenders in order to receive more reasonable and humane discipline). Richard fell in love with her at first sight, and they talked about poetry and painting together, and had a pleasant relationship. When Florence was lonely and helpless, Richard's countless letters gave her great spiritual comfort. She once called Richard "the person I admire." However, in When he proposed, she thought about it for a long time, but rejected him. She wrote to Richard: I am destined to be a drifter. For my mission, I would rather not have marriage, not socialize, and not have money.

Florence once revealed her attitude towards pursuing a celibate life in a letter, and at the same time talked about her views on marriage: "The common prejudice is that, in the final analysis, a person must marry, this is inevitable Ultimately, though, I felt that marriage was not the only way a person could feel fulfilled and satisfied and find greater joy in her career." After that, she rejected all suitors.

At Florence's request, Sir Benson sent her a book: "Caesar Watts's Annual of Women of Christian Charity". The book introduces Caesar Watts' advanced concepts and related situations in nursing.

After reading it carefully, she couldn't help but be overjoyed. As a charity medical institution, Kaiser Watts is exactly where she has dreamed of being for years. There, the conditions in all aspects are relatively complete, and she can receive appropriate training. At the same time, the religious atmosphere and strict rules and regulations there are a "shield" that can ensure that the nurse's reputation is not criticized by public opinion.

However, she did not dare to rashly ask her parents to go directly to Kaiser Voss. She just took advantage of the opportunity to recuperate after her illness and came to Frankfurt first. At that time, the nursing industry there was also at the forefront of other countries. At a clinic, she learned a lot of useful things. When she left two weeks later, she felt qualified to be a qualified caregiver.

When her parents and sister found out that she had a stubborn attitude towards nursing and was still studying medicine privately, they were all trembling with anger. They teamed up to punish her, making her "close herself up and reflect on her mistakes" and not allow her to leave the house.

She had a cold war with her family for several years. Time flies. On June 8, 1851, Florence wrote in her notes with an unprecedented firmness: "I must understand that relying on blind persistence and waiting, opportunities will pass by in vain. Slip away. All I get from them is increasing conflict. Should I just sit back and wait for death? I must fight for everything on my own. . For my career, I must do it myself. My life's fortune and my true happiness depend on my efforts. They will never give it to me. ”

This time, she has indeed achieved "what she preaches, and what she does must bear fruit." First, she went to Kaisersworth under the pretext of taking a break; after studying there for two weeks, she decided to go to Frankfurt again in order to obtain more systematic study. She calmly announced her decision to her family. Her father was still calm, but her mother and sister were panicked and tried their best to obstruct her again. This time, Florence didn't back down at all. The three of them had a big quarrel. Seeing that the dissuasion was ineffective, the father got angry and walked out of the house with his shotgun and his pet dog. After he left, they became even more noisy. The mother even wanted to slap her, but she nimbly dodged it.

The next day, Florence bravely left home. Arrive at the asylum of Reverend Theodore Friedner - this institution has a hospital, a foundling house, an orphanage and a school for training female teachers.

Florence lived in a small room in the orphanage. Her working places are the orphanage and Frankfurt Women's Hospital. She learned to do all the work and refused to fall behind at all. She even participated in surgical care. This is very difficult for her. After all, at that time, it was completely "indecent" for a noble woman. She understands this, but she doesn't care.

During this time, she wrote several letters home to introduce her situation and longed to get back on good terms with her family. On her 32nd birthday, she thanked her family for their blessings and wrote a special letter to her father, Wayne. It wrote:

"Although I am indeed no longer young, I will persist in exercising my mission even more. In fact, I am very happy because I have finally regained my freedom. My unfortunate adolescence It has passed, and I don’t miss it very much. It will never come back, and I am happy about it, because this means that I will have a new life.”

■Grave and generous, with ambitions formed

One day in 1837, Nightingale felt she heard the voice of God asking her to complete a mission. Since she was a child, she has often taken care of the sick and disabled in nearby villages, and nursed her relatives to relieve the suffering of the sick. Her parents objected to her becoming a nurse, believing it would be detrimental to the family's honor. But feudal consciousness and social influence never made her lose confidence in nursing work.

When she was young, Nightingale gradually became interested in nursing work because she often assisted her father's old friend (a doctor) in caring for patients. She has visited Germany, France, Greece and other places to inspect hospitals and charitable institutions in these countries to enrich her experience and strengthen her determination to pursue a career in nursing. She taught herself nursing knowledge and actively participated in discussions with medical societies on social welfare, children's education and the improvement of hospital facilities.

Due to her wealthy family, Nightingale’s childhood life was extremely affluent. The people who interacted with them were also celebrities, including politicians, literary writers, artists, and some local gentry at the time. This allowed her to fully enjoy the comfortable life of the Victorian era. But in Nightingale's little mind, she did not feel happy facing this kind of pampered life. She was shy and did not want to see strangers, and she often felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness. By the age of twelve, she was studying Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, history, mathematics and philosophy with her father. Under her father's guidance, Nightingale made great progress in her studies. She often read aloud and talked loudly with her father. When her father traveled abroad, she would exchange feelings through letters. In 1837, the family traveled to the European continent, and the parents used the opportunity to increase their daughters' experience in various parts of Europe. At this time, Geer was already seventeen years old and had suddenly become a beautiful big home show. The family spent a year and a half traveling throughout France, Italy, and Switzerland, enjoying the scenery of lakes, mountains, art and monuments along the way, and inspecting social conditions everywhere. Nightingale developed the habit of remembering things and writing diaries since she was a child. Everything she saw and heard was recorded, which became important information for her future running of schools and affairs. She met some famous people in France and socialized with famous women engaged in social activities. She is very interested in politics and people, especially charities. She has had this self-belief in serving humanity and a firm will to do good in the world since she was a teenager.

After traveling on the European continent, she found that the nursing conditions in hospitals were extremely poor, and felt that Britain also needed something like St. Vincent in France. In the Pauline Hospice, nuns like that came to care for the sick. Nursing work began to sprout in her heart, she wanted to be a nurse! The image of British nurses at that time was that of crude, aging women who were both ignorant and ignorant, let alone unable to perform medical tasks. Nightingale's choice of this job was simply unbelievable to her mother!

In 1839, the family returned to England. At this time, Nightingale had become dignified and generous. She often met celebrities at home and was noticed and appreciated by the world. She especially liked to meet social workers and people from all walks of life engaged in innovative work. Among them was a well-known doctor who worked in Longlisbury, County, which inspired her to want to study in a hospital.

At that time, most of the wards in the hospital were in one large room. The beds were closely connected and very crowded. The walls and floors were covered with bloodstains and stains, and the smell was unpleasant, making it difficult for those who came in. Bear. This kind of bad situation can be found everywhere. Once an American doctor Samuel. When Hao came to her home as a writer, Nightingale consulted him about her views on becoming a nurse. Dr. Hao praised her ideas and encouraged her to work hard, but it was difficult to get her parents' approval. During this period, in order to cater to his parents' wishes, Fudinger devoted himself to studying and absorbing new knowledge about hygiene. At the same time, under the arrangement of his parents, he participated in some social activities and met two very intimate boyfriends. One was her cousin Henry Nicholson; the other was Charles Mines. However, their proposals were rejected by Nightingale. She decided to be single! What a great decision it was at the time, she was determined to devote herself to nursing as her own mission! She described her mood at that time in detail in her diary, every word and every tear, which was deeply touching. Mains later became a member of Parliament and supported Nightingale's cause throughout his life. In early 1848, she met Siddhartha Hebert in Rome. He was handsome, elegant and had the air of an English gentleman. Hebert and Nightingale hit it off and maintained a noble friendship throughout their lives. Later, Hebert was elected as Minister of War and gave strong support to Nightingale's cause.

In October 1849, she traveled to Egypt again with her friends and crossed the sea to Greece; in April of the following year, she arrived in Athens.

Everywhere Nightingale visited, she would visit charitable institutions, such as nursing homes, orphanages, and related medical relief institutions. May 12, 1850, happened to be her thirtieth birthday. She wrote this birthday message on her notepad: Today I am thirty years old, which is the age when Jesus Christ began to devote himself to preaching. There should be no more childish behavior from now on. There should be no more thoughts of love and marriage. Only let me follow God’s will and do what He arranges. She felt that devoting herself to nursing was the responsibility given to her by God!

■Set up a nursing home and volunteer to save people

In her time, there was no one with status to be a nurse. Nurses are often ignorant, rude, alcoholic, and untrained women. She took advantage of the opportunity to travel to Europe to learn about nursing work in various places. In the end, she chose Catherworth Hospital, which she had learned about, and participated in a four-month short-term training course at the hospital in 1851, which finally made her dream of studying nursing come true. During her studies, she experienced firsthand that nursing work requires hard work in many aspects to relieve pain and provide spiritual comfort to patients. In 1844, she set out from the United Kingdom to travel across the European continent. She traveled to France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and other countries, and inspected hospitals in various countries. In 1850, despite her family's objections, she decided to go to Kaisersweis, Germany, to receive nursing training. Her talent was discovered, and in 1853 she was employed as overseer of the London Society for the Care of Sick Women.

Nightingale's ambition finally moved her father and promised to support her with five hundred pounds a year. And on August 12, 1853, with funding from the Charity Commission, Nightingale established a nursing home at No. 1 Harley Street, London, and began to display her ambitions. She took many measures that amazed people at the time. For example, the patient call bell was used, and a winch was set up in the kitchen to deliver meals to the patients. She emphasized that "any woman, regardless of religion, rich or poor, can be admitted as long as she is sick..." She showed extraordinary ability in her work, and everyone She obeyed everything she said.

In August 1854, cholera broke out in a slum in the suburbs of London. Regardless of her personal safety, Nightingale volunteered to participate in emergency rescue work. She was busy taking care of dying patients in the hospital, and many people died in her arms. Mrs. Caskell highly praised Nightingale’s righteous deeds because she personally experienced and felt Nightingale’s dedication. She described it this way: “She is tall, thin and slender; she has short, thick brown hair; her complexion is She is white and thin; her gray eyes flash with a melancholy look, but sometimes they reveal happy sparkles, which is really unforgettable; her teeth are beautiful and neat, and her smile is extremely sweet. She has a long soft hair scarf covering her head. The corners of her hair are tied up, which makes her fair face look even more beautiful. She often wears a black silk gown and a black shawl, giving people a graceful and elegant impression... . ”

■The goddess with the lamp will never look back

In 1853, the Crimean War broke out between Turkey, Britain, France and other countries and Russia. In March 1854, Britain and France formally declared war on Russia in order to aid Turkey. In September, the British and French forces landed in Crimea. Reports from the front stated that there was no one to take care of the wounded soldiers. The report said that French wounded soldiers were cared for by nuns, and Russian wounded soldiers were cared for by the Sisters of Mercy. Why are there no nuns in Britain to care for wounded soldiers? Moreover, the medical rescue conditions of the British army were very poor. The casualty mortality rate was as high as 42%.

When these facts were disclosed by the press, there was an uproar in the country. After Nightingale heard the news, she immediately wrote a letter to the wife of Herbert, the then Secretary of War, expressing her willingness to send 40 nurses to the battlefield at her own expense to treat the wounded. For a 35-year-old woman at the time, this was a very daunting challenge. At that time, female nurses known as "Sisters" (Sisters) had already appeared in various advanced European countries. However, due to religious and social prejudices, the United Kingdom has always opposed the appearance of female nurses in hospitals, especially field hospitals. On October 15, Minister Hebert agreed to her request and wrote back to Nightingale, inviting her to lead a group of nurses to Scutari, who would be appointed and funded by the government. Nightingale readily agreed, and five days later the government appointed her head of the women's nursing corps at the British General Hospital in Turkey. The nursing corps consists of 38 members, 14 of whom are vocational nurses selected by various hospitals, and the other 24 are selected by various religious groups. On October 21, they hurriedly dressed up and hit the road. Arriving in Scutari on November 4th, we immediately got into busy work.

Initially, based on traditional understanding and jealousy, the doctors advocated that they should not be allowed to enter the ward without a doctor's instruction. I was turned away for four days in a row. Faced with this situation, Nightingale first set out to improve the diet of the wounded soldiers, change dirty clothes, and work together to clean up. She deeply felt that a complete hospital must have adequate water supply and a good drainage system. In three months, she had cleaned 10,000 shirts. She spent her own money to pay for emergency repairs to the ward to accommodate 800 new injured patients. Nightingale's active service spirit finally resolved the hostility of military doctors and won the respect and trust of the wounded. She devoted all her energy to nursing work day and night, gradually putting the hospital on track, and her office naturally became the center of radiating warmth and love.

The British Army's hospital site was originally a Turkish garrison barracks. The buildings were primitive and simple, and the equipment was severely lacking. The entire hospital was dirty and messy. Because it was scheduled to accommodate 2,500 injured patients, all corridors were opened as wards. These corridors are four miles long, with overcrowded hospital beds, extremely poor sanitary equipment, poor ventilation, and overflowing stench. On rainy days, the ground is covered with mud, the sky is sandy, and swarms of rats roam everywhere. The environment is extremely harsh. Each patient is only allocated 500ml of water per day. Due to the shortage of beds, many patients slept on the floor, and there were not enough quilts. Some even used canvas instead. Many wounded soldiers would rather not use them. Fuel was always scarce, and meal supplies were even less ideal. General medicines are extremely scarce. Under such harsh conditions, a large number of wounded soldiers were infected with dysentery and cholera.

Nightingale spent 30,000 pounds of her own money to purchase drugs and medical equipment for the hospital and reorganized the hospital, established and improved the living environment and nutritional conditions for the wounded, reorganized the operating room, canteen and laboratory, She quickly changed the face of the field hospital. The field hospital that could only accommodate 1,700 wounded actually received 3,000 to 4,000 wounded through her arrangement. Here, her management and organizational talents were put to full use. Six months later, great changes took place in the field hospital, with the casualty mortality rate falling rapidly from 42% to 2%. This miraculous and eye-catching nursing effect shocked the country. It also changed the British government and the public's evaluation of nurses and improved the status of women. Nursing work has since been valued by society. The importance of nursing work is also recognized. At the same time, a noble profession was opened up and created for women. Nightingale put a lot of energy and effort into this. She established a nurse inspection system. Every night, she always carried a lantern to inspect the wards, often working more than 20 hours a day. When night fell, she carried a small oil lamp and walked along the rugged path to check on the sick and wounded bed by bed in the camp 4 miles away. The soldiers affectionately called her "The Lady with the Lamp" and "The Angel of Crimea". The wounded and sick wrote: "The lights were swaying and floating over, and the cold night seemed to be full of warmth... Hundreds of us wounded were lying there. When she came, we struggled to kiss her slender figure floating on the wall. , and then lay back on the pillow contentedly. "This is the so-called "wall shadow kiss". Therefore, "Nurses Carrying Lamps" and "Nursing College Students' Candle-Lighting and Hat-wearing Ceremony" have also become common themes for Nightingale commemorative stamps and nurse-themed stamps.

Nightingale’s great success in Crimea and her selfless work spirit have won praise from the public in various countries. The importance of nursing work has been recognized by people, and nursing work has been valued by society since then.

Overwork caused Nightingale to contract a lifelong disease. She contracted Crimean fever in the Crimea and returned to work before her health fully recovered. In November 1856, she returned to England as the last evacuee. At the end of the war, Nightingale avoided the government's grand welcoming ceremony and quietly returned home to England under the pseudonym "Miss Smith." She said: “I don’t want flattery, as long as people understand me.

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