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The Battle Of Mary Beckinridge

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Introduction The loss of her only son Breckie, at the age of 4, and her only daughter Polly, at six-hours old, evoked the desire for Mary Beckinridge to do all she could to bring health care and nursing services to the poor mothers and infants in the rural, mountainous areas in Leslie County, Kentucky. These are people who would otherwise not have had access to proper health care for the birth of their children. Mary always had an interest in the needs of others (Crowe-Carraco, 1989) which is reflected in a quote by her late son, Breckie who said, “He was always falling down, but said he could fly.” He was speaking of a baby bird that he came upon during one of their walks. After years of serving others as a nurse both in the United …show more content…

(Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2015). The family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia in the late 1890’s where Mary’s father served as the American Minister to Russia. Mary’s brother Clifton was born in Russia while the family lived there. Mary was fourteen at the time of Clifton’s birth and it was this childhood memory that made an impact on her and what would later become the Frontier Nursing Service. (Breckinridge, 1952). Like their mother, Mary and her sister were both educated in their early years by governesses. Her mother read to them in the afternoons and into the evenings and this is where she gained her love of telling stories to children. (Breckinridge, 1952). A lot of her primary education came from reading books and being with people rather than from any sort of formal schooling. While living in St. Petersburg at the age of 14, Mary kept a journal and by doing this, she learned to spell and write in English. Mary later attended finishing schools in Switzerland and back in the United States in Connecticut. (Breckinridge, 1952) Nursing Education After the death of her first husband, whom she was married to for only a brief time, Mary attended and graduated as a Registered Nurse from St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing located in New York City from 1906 – 1910. Mary remarried in 1912 but later left her husband to pursue further nursing experiences and education. The decision for Mary to leave her second husband was

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