“Born to serve, serve until death”

Defence Forces and Nurses are referred by this quote. Nurses are a special class who Nurse these warriors and soldiers.

The moment you say Nurse, two great names come in to our mind.

They lived their life only for serving the diseased and poor, selflessly.

1. Florence Nightingale – She was a part of a wealthy family, defied everything and pursued what she believed as God Given call of nursing.

Her service during the Crimean war, where she and her team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital.

Her writings sparked World wide health reforms and in 1860 established the St. Thomas Hospital and the Nightingale Training school for Nurses.

She used to carry the lamp of light in the night to comfort the wounded soldiers and it was soothening for them. They started referring to her as “The lady with the lamp” and that is how the name “Nightingale” as fondly remembered by the soldiers then and even now.

2. Mother Teresa – No words is sufficient and can describe her sacrifice. She had spent all her life only for the poor, patients and downtrodden.

All through her life, she could never see or bear any one suffering and lived a selfless service. Poor, sick, orphaned, dying patients were all given care by her and her healing power healed them.

She was always referred to as a Nurse and Healer. She had divinity in herself.

She was the receipiebt of Nobel Prize in 1979 for serving the poor, sick and dying people.

Mother Teresa was conferred Sainthood. She has performed miracles to prove her sainthood, even after her death.

Such is the greatness of the profession of a Nurse.

Now, let us consider ourself a patient and look at the Nurses, how caring and kind they are and selfless.

The Doctors only come during their duty time or in any emergency and spend few minutes with us.

All caring comes from the Nurse. The love to serve the patient oozes out from the bottom of their hearts. That love and smile cures us.

As you get up in the morning, they come to help to brush your teeth, give you the morning breakfast, helps you to take the medicines as prescribed timely.

Then, they come up to give a sponge bath for you and keep you fresh from any bacterial or virus attacks and the service continues until lunch.

You are given medicines again and made to rest and in the evening the same service continues to check the temperature and take note of the Doctors direction and follow it up with you dinner and medicine for the night.

We all could sleep comfortably only because they are awake all night to take care of us.

Visualise their smiling face in front of you. While attending to you, they keep you engaged with nice talk about your family and comfort you with soothing words.

If you have a indigestion problem and start vomitting, they are quick to make you comfortable and clean up everything without any feeling of irritation or disgust in their face.

Loving is their way of life and service is their attitude. They create a bonding as your own sister, daughter or mother and are always happy to see you go back healthy to your family.

Their job continues and they shower the same love and care towards the next patient.

Recognising their service which no one else could do, they are revered as “Sister”.

They are special human sent with some divine power to help and caress the mankind.

Now, let us look at their family back home.

They may be poor, lower income group, or they would be carrying the whole family burden, or their husband will be irresponsible. Rare that, a Nurse has a good home.

Inspite of all these demands and problems, the moment they come in to the hospital and Don their uniform, they get transformed as angels.

Very important aspect is that, mostly they all come from “God’s own Country” and go to work anywhere around the World and pick up every language so easily and make the patients comfortable in their language.

At the same time, spread the freshness of their nativity in their accent and pronounciation.

Two cases, of Nurses I would like to narrate here.

I have a friend working in the Leather industry and was a love marriage and his wife was a Nurse and is still a Nurse, though her daughter have become a Doctor.

As a leather industry person, I know the erratic timings we work and totally an indisciplined lot. We love leather and know only leather.

There were many times, I had gone to fetch him from his house for any urgent work, be it early morning or late night, I have never seen his wife, getting upset or showing face at me or at him and sent him off smilingly.

She may have just come back from duty or leaving for duty, she takes all the pains and sends her husband smiling. That makes me comfortable also.

2. This is another friend who works in a Leather Goods Industry and timing erratic. His wife works in the best hospital in India as a Nurse.

Her shift working and my friends erratic working hours made her leave the only daughter with her parents back in Kerala for 13 years.

Just recently, the daughter is back with them, as she can take care of herself.

Imagine the plight of the mother. How much she would have missed her only daughter.

Would she have shown her feelings at any time during the duty hours. The moment she gets in to her uniform, she transforms herself as a Nightingale or Mother Teresa.

Yes, the Sainthood conferred is right. Mother Teresa, till today lives in Hospital taking care of the sick and dying patients with the same love and care, and she lives forever.

Let us all pray for the well-being of such great Nurses and their families.

Let us celebrate them.

Dedicated to all Nurses.

By Vasan. Suri

Just now, my Guruji, chirps in with a Great information that, US Government, decided to grant “Green Card” to all the Indian Nurses living in USA. About, 25000 Nurses are going to be given this “Green Card”.