NEVER GIVE UP
on a dream M
CHLOË HAMMOND SHARES WITH US, HER DETERMINATION TO ACHIEVE THE CAREER AMBITIONS SHE HAD AS A CHILD AND THE HURDLES SHE FACED ALONG THE WAY.
y name is Chloë and I am a nurse. I am the only nurse in the UK who uses a wheelchair and has an assistance dog. It hasn’t been an easy road, but I’m so proud of the journey I have been on, the person I have become, and the amount of lives I have touched. When I was younger I was admitted to hospital with multi-organ failure. I was in an adult hospital being looked after by nurses with very little / no experience of working with children and young people. I decided right then that I wanted to be a nurse.
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I worked really hard and got the grades I needed for college, despite having an attendance record of less than 20% at school. I went to college and did my A-Levels. My college tutors were lovely and really supportive of my dream to go to university and become a nurse. They didn’t see my disabilities, they just saw my hard work, determination and my desire to succeed. That’s when I hit my first road block. Despite getting 9 A*- C’s at GCSE and being predicted brilliant
grades at A-Level, I didn’t get accepted by any of my university choices. I wasn’t told a reason. But, at the university interviews people made comments and raised concerns that maybe a career in nursing was not for me and perhaps not quite the direction I should be going. I was warned that I couldn’t be taking extended periods out as sick leave during the course and that I would always be subject to occupational health clearance as a student and as a qualified nurse. But I didn’t give up. I knew what my dream was, and I