After being diagnosed with leukaemia as a teenager, Abi Duffy was so impressed with her care that she decided to become a nurse herself.
Now the 23-year-old will be able to say the ultimate thank you to those who helped save her life – after she secured a work placement on the same hospital ward that treated her seven years ago.
This week Miss Duffy will begin her university placement at Alder Hey Hospital, in Liverpool, among nurses on the oncology ward who inspired her career choice.
‘It feels like I’m passing something on,’ she told the Mail. ‘It was 100 per cent the nurses on the oncology ward that inspired me to be a paediatric nurse and it is the best decision I’ve ever made. They did something for me and now I have the chance to do something for someone else.’
Miss Duffy was diagnosed aged 15 in May 2013 and immediately began four rounds of chemotherapy at Alder Hey, which involved spending long periods as an inpatient on the oncology ward. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy was not successful and instead doctors decided a bone marrow transplant was her best chance of survival.
After being diagnosed with leukaemia as a teenager, Abi Duffy was so impressed with her care that she decided to become a nurse herself. Pictured, Abi back at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool
Now the 23-year-old (pictured during her cancer battle) will be able to say the ultimate thank you to those who helped save her life – after she secured a work placement on the same hospital ward that treated her seven years ago
This week Miss Duffy (pictured aged 16) will begin her university placement at Alder Hey Hospital, in Liverpool, among nurses on the oncology ward who inspired her career choice
Luckily, her brother, Ciaran, 27, proved to be a match and, in October the same year, she had the operation at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. The transplant was a success but Miss Duffy suffered difficult side effects and still needed regular follow-up treatment at Alder Hey afterwards. Only in January this year was she finally discharged for good.
Miss Duffy, of St Helens, Merseyside, said that throughout her treatment the nurses at Alder Hey made her feel ‘part of a special family’.
‘The atmosphere wasn’t like a hospital, it felt more like a family,’ she said. ‘I got to know all the nurses, the way they treated me was so special.
‘Even after I stopped going for treatment I missed going to see them. We had this bond. I thought that’s what I want to do, to go and make a difference to people’s lives like they made to mine.’
Miss Duffy singled out nurse Megan Brice, who cared for her during her treatment, as the source of her inspiration. The pair are likely to cross paths for the first time in years when they are on shift together next week.
Miss Duffy (pictured aged 15, right, with her mother Debbie) was diagnosed aged 15 in May 2013 and immediately began four rounds of chemotherapy at Alder Hey, which involved spending long periods as an inpatient on the oncology ward
Unfortunately, the chemotherapy was not successful and instead doctors decided a bone marrow transplant was her best chance of survival. Pictured, Abi outside Alder Hey Hospital
Last night Miss Brice, 31, who has been a specialist paediatric oncology nurse at Alder Hey for more than nine years, told the Mail it was Miss Duffy, not herself, who was the real inspiration.
‘It is very touching that you can make such a difference to someone’s life,’ she said. ‘Of course I remember Abi, she had some very tough times but she smiled her way through her treatment. She was a pleasure to nurse.
‘It is amazing that, after what she has been through, she has turned her life around. Coming back to the ward will no doubt bring back a lot of memories and emotions for her, she is such a strong person to put herself back in that situation.
‘But I know that everything she has been through will give her the understanding and compassion to make her an amazing nurse. I wish her all the luck in the world.
‘To have her come back and say such beautiful things about the care she received and how it changed her life makes us nurses realise why we do what we do.’
Luckily, her brother, Ciaran, 27, proved to be a match and, in October the same year, Miss Duffy (pictured aged 16, and with her mother, right) had the operation at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Miss Duffy singled out nurse Megan Brice (pictured), who cared for her during her treatment, as the source of her inspiration to become a nurse
Miss Duffy started work at the hospital with a night shift at 7pm on Monday.
She added: ‘I’m determined to make the most of the opportunity I’ve been given. I hope it feels like going home and that my experience will be able to help and give hope to other children and their families.’
Despite being very poorly during her initial treatment, Miss Duffy managed to sit three GCSEs and went onto college, before securing a place at Edge Hill University to study for a degree in paediatric nursing last year.
She was selected at random to start a work placement on the oncology ward, but admitted it ‘must have been written in the stars’ that she was chosen to return.
‘I just hope they recognise me because I’ve got hair now,’ she joked. ‘The university didn’t even know I had had leukaemia so it was completely random. A complete coincidence, but it feels like fate.’
Referring to the moment she was told she had secured the placement, she added: ‘I started crying. My dream is to work in oncology at Alder Hey one day, hopefully this will help me get my foot in the door.’