Loss of two-year-old daughter leads to nursing first

Nikki Hewitt is New Cross Hospital's first Paediatric Cardiology Clinical Nurse Specialist

A woman who trained as a nurse after losing her two-year-old daughter has become a Wolverhampton hospital's first paediatric cardiology nurse specialist.

Nikki Hewitt's daughter Bethany was born with gastroschisis, an abdominal wall defect which causes the intestines to develop outside the stomach.

She had a liver and bowel transplant and spent eight months in intensive care before she died in 2009.

"I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for Bethany," the mum-of-four from Cannock said.

Bethany was born with a condition which causes the intestines to develop outside the stomach

Bethany was transferred to the intensive care unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH), her family constantly at her bedside as she became more unwell.

The two-year-old lost most of her bowel and suffered liver failure before undergoing transplants, then a tracheotomy.

She contracted sepsis and died in September 2009, three months after her second birthday.

"When I lost my daughter I felt like I had nothing," Ms Hewitt said. "Nursing wasn’t something I'd thought of, but I applied for the course a month after."

Accepted, she went on to train at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, then worked in intensive care for 11 years at BCH.

"I always felt more drawn towards sicker children," she said. "ITU felt like home."

"We used to do all the chest closures and watching a baby's heart beating, I found it incredible."

The toddler died just three months after her second birthday in 2009.

The nurse described her new role at New Cross Hospital as "an amazing opportunity" where she could "really make a difference".

"There's a lot of families with chronic congenital heart conditions which are life-shortening and they need support," she said. "Until now, Wolverhampton didn't have that."

Ms Hewitt added her devastating loss gave her an insight into how patients and families might feel.

"It actually helps with the staff, to explain to them that they don't know what it's like to live with these conditions, because it affects every bit of your life,” she said.

"When a parent is irate, they might not have slept or ate properly for days or worked and money's tight. Hopefully I can provide that understanding between the medics and the parents."