A COVENTRY woman who began 2023 by starting her journey to becoming a nurse after being inspired by those who helped her dad through prostate cancer is now encouraging others to take the same New Year’s leap.
Mum of three Chantel Ward said ‘New Year, New Me’ and started studying to become a nurse in January after her father George’s cancer battle through the Covid pandemic, which he has now fully recovered from.
The 47-year-old spent more than two decades working for an engineering company, a baby clinic and then as a childminder but said she felt her life was going in the wrong direction.
She is now closing out the year on placement in the respiratory wards at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
She said she is hopeful she can now help make a difference for other families, just as the staff at UHCW did for hers.
She added: “It was a case of New Year, new beginning, I wanted to do something for myself, to achieve something and that is why I decided to start this journey.
“The treatment my dad received was second to none.
“It spurred me on to join the NHS and hopefully achieve what the staff achieved with my dad and make a difference.
“My advice to anyone thinking about going into nursing or making a change this New Year is simple – do it.”
