Florence Nightingale - Discharged

My two-week, or 14-day, stay at the Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital, located right next to the Abide-i Hürriyet (Monument of Liberty) in Şişli Çağlayan, has come to an end. Prof. Dr. Azmi Hamzaoğlu and his team, the hospital equipped with modern technologies, and the power of love played a huge role in my recovery.

Consultant Doğan Kılıç says, "Our Abide-i Hürriyet Hospital is our honor and our pride." You are right, Mr. Doğan; it is a great source of pride not only for you but also for the Turkish healthcare sector. The vast majority of the patients at the hospital where I stayed for two weeks were foreign nationals. It is a leading institution in our healthcare sector that brings great gains and prestige to our country in terms of health tourism.

It is equipped with the latest technological innovations and advancements in the world. At the same time, it is an institution that has not abandoned classical medical practices. Before and after every surgery, those smiling nurses would tirelessly and carefully place the blood pressure cuff on our arms and measure my blood pressure with a stethoscope, performing all their medical duties. The third factor that crowns their success is their love and friendly demeanor. For two weeks, no staff member showed any fatigue or weariness throughout the 24 hours. Their food would even whet the appetite of those who had none. They offered the best examples of gastronomy. These features played a major role in my quick recovery. I offer my gratitude and thanks to all healthcare workers with a warm embrace and my best regards.

As I walked through the common area one last time in the morning to bid farewell to the hospital surroundings, I watched the Azerbaijani and Turkish flags waving side by side again and again. There is the Çağlayan Courthouse, which has been trying to distribute justice—a commodity that has become very scarce in our country since the day it was built. I have a grievance regarding the construction of this place. It completely disregarded the Monument of Liberty, where a Grand Vizier who shaped Ottoman history for better or worse, along with 4 Pashas and 47 military and civilian personnel, are laid to rest. The monument has now remained in the shadow of the Çağlayan Courthouse. As children of a country that has raised many famous architects like Mimar Sinan, I would like to express my sadness.

Florence Nightingale is the name of the lady with the lamp. She was actually a statistician. During the Crimean War, she trained nurses and was nicknamed the "Lady with the Lamp" because she would walk around the wounded at night with a lamp, relieving their pain and suffering. She is the founder of modern nursing. 

I sincerely congratulate the hospital's founders, Op. Dr. Mücahit Atmanoğlu and his colleagues, for giving such a distinguished healthcare institution the name "Florence Nightingale." We lost our elder, Op. Dr. Mücahit Atmanoğlu, a doyen of the healthcare field since the days I met him during my term as Chief Physician at the İzmir Tepecik Maternity Hospital and when he served as the Social Security Institution Istanbul Regional Health Director, this past June. May his soul rest in peace.

When I think of a lamp, it is impossible not to remember Diogenes of Sinope and the late Tunceli Deputy Kamer Genç. When it comes to enlightenment, we received the good news yesterday at the Kırşehir Rally from our Chairman Özgür Özel, who said, "...we will start a new enlightenment revolution..." and that we will become a producing country, starting with our agricultural policy. I support it wholeheartedly. As our presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu said, "Everything will be beautiful." 

My final words; I wish God's mercy upon Yörük Ali Boğa, with whom I served as a Muğla Deputy during the same term and whom we lost in a tragic traffic accident in Fethiye yesterday. I offer my condolences to the AKP organization. May his soul rest in peace.

The greatest capital in the world is "Health." Protecting it is the primary duty of every human being. Stay healthy.

Prof. Dr. Nurettin DEMİR