A NURSE'S DEVOTION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2630, 27 November 1915, Page 11

A NURSE'S DEVOTION

A remarkable instance of a nurse's devotion to her patient in a hospital in; Egypt camo under the personal observation of Captain (Chaplain) Chaseling, of Neutral Bay, who recently returned from Gallipoli (writes an exchange). While he was ill with dysentery in No. 17 Hospital, in Egypt, one of tho adjacent bed© was occupied by Lieut. Little, of Queensland. Tho lieu-tenant-was very seriously wounded when returning bombs which had been thrown into a trench he and his men occupied on the peninsula. One, which wss seen to bo on.the point of exploding, fell among 6ome of, the men, and altnough li-j was warned not to go near it, he picked it up, and was in tie act of throwing it hack vhen it exploded, his right forearm was blown right off, -his. right' hip ,was : reduced .to pi-lp ; and he Was blind in Hull eyes and disfigured. He was taken w ' the' coastline: and eventually armed 'at .he hospital in Egypt in a very serious, condition > A nurse who was on duty iji the ward in which the lieutenant was placed, recognising. that he was in danger of losing his life, refused to' leave his bedside until he took a turn for tho letter, about a week later. She,had very little sleep during the time, and through her unremitting attention to tho patient he afterwards became convalescent. He was then nothing but a physical wreck. '

Blinded, crippled, and disfigured, the lieutenant was 'still- well cared for by the devoted nurse. About this time the wife of one of the high English offloials in Egypt was speaking to the nurse, and asked her if she did not think it would have been better if the lieutenant—lie was only 22 years of die, instead of existing.™ sli'fth a: wricked condition. Tho nurse could do nothing but look at the lady—she was * ; titled ' lady—for some time 'She, afterwards hung: her head, and Appeared to be. thinking hard. After. some minutes she sont for _ a chaplain, and said that sho : wished him 'to perform a marriage ceremony. She then spoke to the lieutenant, and as he was willing to marry, they became man and wife. Sho explained that as lie would never be able to do a stroke of ;work again, sh<v had married him 60 that she could work and keep him.

'Captain Chaseliug, "after narrating the ; above, said that he had read land heard of acts of supreme self-sacrifice on the part of women, hut considered tliat the nurse's' action stamped her as one of the world's heroines.' The name of the nurse was not divulged by the, captain.