A mum who once avoided hospitals due to childhood trauma is now a qualified midwife and hopes to use her experience to support others who feel vulnerable in clinical settings.
Hope Jezzard, 39, was deeply affected by spending much of her childhood visiting her mum in hospital as she battled Crohn’s Disease.
She said: “I grew up learning very early on that people are fragile.
“My mum was often in hospital, wired up to machines. She nearly died twice and was put on life support. I had to leave her behind and although I knew she was being helped, it felt like I was being separated from her. That shaped my fear of clinical environments.”
Despite her fears, Hope was inspired by the midwives who supported her through the birth of her two children. She made a bold career change, leaving behind her customer-facing role in a coffee shop to pursue a degree in