Coveted award for inspirational student

AN INSPIRATIONAL Edge Hill University student has won a coveted Student Nursing Times Award.

- 

Paige Rivers believes her 10-year struggle with anorexia nervosa and subsequent recovery gave her the drive and passion to advocate for herself and others.

She describes the mental health nurse who cared for her while in hospital as the most inspirational person she has ever known.

Paige is now following in her footsteps by inspiring her fellow students, teachers, healthcare professionals and patients as she trains to become a compassionate and life-changing nurse herself.

"I just want to give back. I want to do for others what was done for me. It was the nurses who made the biggest difference in my life.

"One nurse in particular was with me from the age of 10 and went through everything with me. She hadn't been qualified for very long but she really understood the link between the physical and mental challenges of my illness.

"She saw me, not just my illness. She advocated for me, she didn't let me or anyone else give up on me."

Paige, a third-year BSc Nursing (Adult) student, was very seriously unwell during her illness: she spent time in intensive care, she was intubated to help her breathe, and during her lowest ebb she sabotaged her own care and told her mum to plan her funeral.

The nurse who cared for Paige was acutely aware that her physical ill health was a direct result of her mental illness in a way other healthcare professionals sometimes were not.

She wants to use her own experience to highlight how vital it is for healthcare professionals to understand the underlying mental illness which causes the physical symptoms of anorexia nervosa.

This ambition is driving Paige to carefully consider how her career can have the biggest impact.

When Paige qualifies, she is looking forward to starting a new role as a community nurse in a local integrated care team which supports communities with social needs and mental wellbeing as well as physical health.