Florence Nightingale 1820-1910
- 11 August 2010 21:0365017Hopefully, there`s a documentary or two on the box regarding the exploit`s of this famous lady, who died 100 year`s ago this coming Friday aged 90. Plenty on the internet, but by coincidence, on Sunday Half Hour on Radio 2 on Sunday night while I was in hospital, (I like listening to hymn`s), Brian Darcy`s theme was based on nurse`s, and there was me surrounded by load`s of `em.
Briefly what I took note of was, that many soldier`s were dying during the Crimea war from cholera and typhus rather than wound`s, and after Florence Nightingale arrived at the main field hospital, with 13 nurse`s under her, she saw wounded and sick soldier`s on bed`s in filthy uniform`s and bedding, and after a period of just six month`s of cleaning the hospital up, with clean clothes, and better food, she reduced the death rate from 60% down to just 2%! So much more to add, but I`ll leave that to other`s on here if they so wish.Tell them that I came, and no one answered. - 11 August 2010 21:1065020she did soo much.. i always remember reading about her when at school...
hope there are some documentaries.. - 11 August 2010 21:4065025Didn't she invent the Pie Chart ?!
Been nice knowing you :) - 11 August 2010 21:5965032Funny that because I am going to cromford in Derbyshire for my hols and she lived in the next village,Holloway I think.If you knew what I know,we would both be in trouble!
- 11 August 2010 22:1265041the lady of the lamp moved nursing forward, i believe that she is still the icon of the royal college of nursing.
like all great figures, criticism has been aimed at her, the truth is she was a person of her time that did not have the benefit of knowing what we know today. - 12 August 2010 09:2665083In the last 50 or so years of her life, owing to the short period of the work for which she is famed, Florence Nightingale was virtually bedridden and so fatigued that she was unable to tolerate more than one visitor to her bedside at a time. (I believe she also had to remain in a darkened room.)
These symptoms lead some people to believe she was suffering from ME/CFS. Consequently, her birthday, 12 May, has been adopted as the International Awareness Day for this horrible acquired disability.The Dover War Memorial Project
www.doverwarmemorialproject.org.uk - 12 August 2010 10:2965092That's interesting Maggie, I didn't know that.
- 12 August 2010 10:3465095Coincidentally I am just reading her biography. And yes, she did invent the first pie chart. The conditions at Scutari were more horrendous than anyone can possibly imagine and she was hampered in her efforts to improve things by people such as Dr John Hall who refused to admit that there were problems. Basically the common soldier was viewed as little more than cannon fodder and if he was injured he should put up with it with as little complaint as possible. Sadly this view of soldiers was carried on through to WW1.
I always thought it interesting however, that my GNC nursing badge showed St Radigund as the patron saint of nursing, given our local link to this lady. - Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,888
12 August 2010 18:2465207When I was a very little girl I remember meeting an old lady all dressed in black, who said she had been a nurse with Florence Nightingale.
Even at that tender age I had heard of this great nurse and her lamp. I just wish I had been older and shown more than a passing interest in the old lady that I met.-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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