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I am Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu, a Nightengale whose name
means a beautiful singing bird, not the Nightingale of Florence Nightingale. My
twin sister inherited the Florence
from Florence Nightingale, while I was named Nightengale of the beautiful
singing bird, and I am also a singing bird in my own way, but somehow, I have
always felt connected to Florence Nightingale. Whenever I hear her name, I do
not just think about nursing, I think about love. I think about a woman
carrying a lamp in dark hospital rooms, walking quietly from one sick person to
another while the whole world was asleep. I think about wounded soldiers
opening their eyes and seeing someone standing beside them, someone who cared,
someone who stayed. Florence Nightingale was not just a nurse to me. She was
kindness itself. She was comfort in human form. Just the thought of her makes me
feel like sick people were never really alone when she was around.
I am a journalist, but there are still dreams inside my
heart. I want to become a lawyer, a culinary artist, and somehow, a nurse too.
Even if I may never fully study nursing in the university, I still dream of
doing auxiliary nursing someday because there is something about nurses that I
cannot explain. Maybe it is the white scrubs. Maybe it is the little pens in
their pockets. Maybe it is the way they walk fast through hospital corridors
while people wait for help. Or maybe it is because behind those uniforms are
human beings with soft hearts. I might not go to the university to acquire
nursing, but doing auxiliary nursing in any hospital would at least make me
fulfil a part of Florence Nightingale, the part where she was the lady with the
lamp, the part where she took care of soldiers and the sick with a smile on her
face and healing in her hands. The part where she is my hero, the woman I love
and cherish so much.
If I had fully gone into
science, I may have considered becoming a doctor because doctors are highly
respected, and honestly, I admire them a lot. I love seeing them in their
surgery scrubs inside operating rooms, focused on saving lives. The gloves, the
masks, the medical equipment in their hands, and the seriousness on their
faces, it is something beautiful to watch. You can see dedication in their
eyes.
But as much as I admire
doctors, I realised something. A doctor can save a life, but nurses stay with
the pain. Nurses stay when the fear comes at night. Nurses are the ones who sit
beside patients when family members have gone home. They are the ones who
notice silent tears. They are the ones who hold weak hands and say, ‘You will be okay.’ Sometimes, it is not
medicine that gives people strength. Sometimes, it is the kindness of a nurse.
I think nurses are some of
the strongest people in this world. They go through so much quietly. They lose
sleep. They stand for long hours. Some of them go home tired and still return
the next morning with a smile. Some nurses cry after losing patients, yet they
still gather strength to care for the next person lying on the hospital bed.
That kind of heart is rare.
There is something about the
love nurses give that touches deeply. Imagine being scared in a hospital room,
feeling pain, not knowing what will happen to you, then a nurse walks in and
smiles at you gently. In that moment, you feel safe again. You feel like
somebody cares whether you live or not. That is a special kind of love.
Some people are alive today
because a nurse did not give up on them. Some children stopped crying because a
nurse made them smile. Some old people felt less lonely because a nurse sat
with them for a few minutes. Some mothers survived childbirth because a nurse
acted quickly. Nurses may not always know it, but they leave pieces of their
love inside the hearts of the people they care for.
This Nurses Week, I just
want to say thank you. Thank you for the sleepless nights. Thank you for the
hidden tears. Thank you for still being kind even when you are tired. Thank you
for caring for strangers like family. The world may not always appreciate
nurses enough, but many people are alive today because of your care, your
patience, and your love.
To every nurse reading this,
never forget that you matter. Even when nobody says it, you matter. The way you
smile, the way you speak softly to patients, the way you stay calm in hard
moments, people don’t forget it. They may forget your name, but they will
always remember how you made them feel when they were scared or in pain.
Happy Nurses Week to every nurse around the world. May
God bless your soft hearts and your healing hands.
Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
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