Florence Nightingale
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May 12, 1820 - August 13, 1910
What many people do not know is that during the Crimean War, while working fervently to assist the wounded, Florence Nightingale contracted something that made her an invalid for the remainder of her life. She suffered from something akin to which we refer today as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Fibromyalia Syndrome (FMS). Nightingale was indeed a resolute woman who did not let her illness completely stop her from revolutionising the health care industry of her day. This was a woman who resisted cultural restrictions against her gender and class, the strict conventions of the medical establishment in addition to a condition that left her, for the most part, physically paralysed. Florence Nightingale is not only a symbol of determination and selflessness but above all, she offers hope to those downtrodden by illness that things will change, that progress will come and that they will be given the knowledge to support them in the fight for their health.
May 12th is Florence Nightingale’s birthday and was thus designated an International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND), which is an umbrella term for the above mentioned conditions. CFS is the American name while ME is used everywhere else. Fibromyalgia, Gulf War and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndromes are also related by commonality of symptoms and available research.
By Jessica VanDusen
Originally published on May 12�?2002
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