Helene Suleng, Sister Helene, worked as a parish nurse, and later as a public health nurse in the large municipality of Lyngen (Storfjord, Kåfjord and Lyngen) in the period 1921-1949. She braved storms and bad weather to care for the sick or receive newborns. Her good humour and ability to communicate with everyone made her much appreciated. Helene received the King's Medal of Merit for her work in 1959.
Helene Mateha Pedersen Suleng, Olderdalen (1890-1979)
You were with many and were not afraid,
the northwest howled and the land wind piped.
Yes, great was the district, but never did you fail.
You came when they called and helped in a tight spot.
To Storfjord and Lyngen and Kåfjord you went.
And cared for and comforted in all three languages.
In 1921, she was hired as a parish nurse in Stor-Lyngen (Storfjord, Kåfjord, Lyngen until 1930), and later as a public health nurse. The position was established at a time when tuberculosis, or the «white plague,» was rampant, and it was absolutely essential for the population to be educated about hygienic conditions. Helene contributed through school health checks and travelled around the municipality as a disinfector. She saved the doctor long journeys and the municipality significant transportation costs.
Helene was fluent in Sami, Finnish, and Norwegian, and could therefore communicate well with everyone in the multicultural municipality.
Sister Helene always brought a cloth and a bottle of 96% on her home visits. Everything she came into contact with was thoroughly washed. The same was true for all houses where infections of various kinds had been detected. Clothes and bedding were taken out to air and sun, and the houses were thoroughly scrubbed.
Helene was afraid of flying, but it so happened that she had to assist women in labour who needed to take a seaplane to Tromsø. Then she didn't say no to a glass of cognac before she got on the plane.
In 1959, Helene received the King's Medal of Merit in silver for her work in healthcare in the municipalities of Lyngen, Kåfjord and Storfjord.
Helene never married. Although she lived alone in a flat in Lyngseidet, it is said that there were always people around her.
