Ginger H. Robinson, BSN, RN

1. Ginger next to 600 y.o. lion from China, UM-C Journalism School. 2. MU Nursing Award. 3. Nightingale Society Pin. 4. Tiger, Pin, and Nightingale Certificate. 5. L to R Holly Holmes Blansett, Ginger Holmes Robinson, Mary Barnes Cupps, Lynn Holmes Ausburn. 6. Columns in Francis Quad, where Ginger was tapped for Mortar Board.

Ginger H. Robinson Receives Humanitarian Nursing Award From Alma Mater

On April 24, 2009 at a banquet Ginger H. Robinson, BSN, RN received the Humanitarian Award from her alma mater, the Sinclair School of Nursing in Columbia, Missouri. Grateful, she shared a quote from Florence Nightingale, a nurse who served the wounded and ill during the Crimean War near Turkey in 1854. Nursing was not considered a respectable profession of the time. But Florence Nightingale, named after her birthplace, Florence, Italy, endeavored to improve the lives of many.

Nightingale felt "called of God" in her efforts. Likewise with FACE the Challenge, Robinson felt called by God to a service of compassion. Regarding patients in her care Nightingale observed: "Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, [and] fear of surprise do a patient more harm than any exertion."

Robinson, too, could relate. She described a 23-year-old woman, Phuong, who had a 3.5 pound giant cell tumor. It had completely invaded her jaw and it was necessary for Robinson's husband, Dr. Randolph C. Robinson, to remove Phuong's mandible on April 9. Dr. Robinson used metal benders and designed the titanium plate into the shape of a mandible, took two rib cartilage grafts, and made these into her "new mandible".

Phuong arrived in the recovery room at the National Hospital of Odontostomatology in Ho Chi Minh City. Phuong's tiny mother was brought in and began to sob. A nurse who translated stated the mother repeatedly said "thank you" and that she was very poor. She lived far away and had looked for someone to help her daughter for 11 long years. This surgery was featured in the Ho Chi Minh City newspaper, Tuo'i Tre', 11 April 2009, page 2, www.tuoitre.com.vn.

At the banquet Robinson spoke about the frailty of life and sometimes the certainty of death with which nurses deal. Those who are ill or weakened and those who love them all suffer from apprehension. This vulnerability puts many in the position to receive an outpouring of grace and compassion, necessary components of care. Robinson hoped her experiences would inspire others to offer their best for healing: their own skills, energies, and unique gifts of compassion.