She Was Saved as a Baby by Hospital Staff — Now She Returns as a Grateful Nurse

For some, having to spend their childhood in hospital is probably enough to put them off hospitals and anything medical for the rest of their lives.

But this isn't the case for the incredible Cati Williamson, who spent her childhood as a patient at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in the University Hospital of Wales , in Cardiff , and has now returned there to work as a nurse.

Cati, who is from Cardiff, was diagnosed with a curvature in her neck at her mum, Dawn‘s, 20-week scan.

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Baby Cati was born seemingly otherwise healthy and at a week old, she returned to hospital for an MRI scan to assess the extent of her scoliosis, the name for her curvature in the neck.

It was during this MRI scan that several serious and complex heart defects, the extent of which the team hadn’t seen before, became known.

Cati had a large hole in her heart, misaligned arteries, valves that overlapped and straddled each other, and a narrowed aorta. With further tests revealing that Cati’s oxygen levels were dangerously low - there was no time to waste.

At just three weeks old, Cati underwent the first of many major operations. What followed was a childhood marked with hospital stays, open-heart surgeries, and countless procedures.

Cati wasn’t able to consume food orally until she was a year old and at five, she had her third major operation to replumb her heart. Alongside this, Cati dealt with her scoliosis, facing comments about her physical appearance.

This would be enough for anyone to wanted to stay as far away from the hospital they were treated in as possible, but not for Cati. Her incredible story only spurred her on to become a nurse, and now, aged 23 she works at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital, and still has very fond memories of her time in hospital.

Talking to WELLNESSINVESTIGATOR, she said: "That is the main thing I remember when I was growing up, I would be so excited to come into hospital, it's like my second home, I absolutely loved it... I grew up in hospital and it's my favourite place.

"I think I just felt it was such a safe place, I just felt so much comfort being there, it's my second home. I used to tell everyone in school if I was missing a school trip I’d be like ‘I’m going to hospital but it's ok because I like going there’ and I’d miss the school trip happily to be in hospital."

Cati now works alongside some of the nurses who treated her. She said: "I’m working with some of the nurses that actually looked after me when I was first born... It is really strange to think they’ve been there all that time, it is a full circle."

Speaking about being a nurse at the hospital and on the Pelican Ward which is the cardiac ward Cati herself was treated on, Cati was full of pride.

She said: "I'm really really proud. I didn’t think I could do it, I’m not good academically, so I was struggling quite a bit and then I was just like, look, this is something I’ve wanted and just pushed myself to do it.

"It is a dream come true… it is just surreal to be back there... It was really surreal, this was so strange, I have to be the carer now and not be the patient.

It is not just Cati who is proud, with her mum Dawn also bursting with pride. Cati said: "It is the proudest she could be. She is very proud, she tells everyone everything."

While Cati continues to thrive, she spoke about how having such a special connection to the hospital helped her treat her patients, saying: "Since I’ve had my story released I’ve had loads of parents, some of them commented on it, some of them I’ve looked after saying, ‘I've seen your story, that is so nice of you to share, it puts us at ease’

"They were just amazed I was there, on the outside of it... I get to know the parents really well, there is a lot of family-centered care, so it is a lot more than adults.

"You deal with the families so it is nice to build that relationship with the parents and they see that and have more trust in you as well. To show families that you can come out the other end, whether it does go wrong or it goes the best way possible."

She still faces living with her scoliosis every day. Cati said: "It affected me quite bad with my scoliosis. You shouldn’t hide your scars, they do tell your story, with my scoliosis it is something that I am still accepting now. That is quite hard for me to get on with."

Speaking about working in the NHS , as Noah's Ark celebrates its milestone 25th birthday and 25 years of providing care for the children who need it most, Cati sums up the strong and resilient nature of the NHS.

She said: "I just get along with it, I just get on with everything… we get on with it, we get it done. We rely on each other."

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