‘Brilliant work’ of neonatal unit inspired dad to retrain as a nurse
HE IS NOW MANAGER OF THE SAME WARD WHERE HIS PREMATURE TWINS WERE BORN
A FORMER DIY store worker has spoken of how he made a career change to become the manager of the neonatal ward which saved his premature twins.
Paul Farmer, 42, was so inspired by the care his children received at Queen’s Medical Centre’s NICU ward 15 years ago he retrained as a nurse.
His and wife Catherine’s children, Ashley and Elisa, were born five weeks early in 2005 while Paul was working as a retail manager at Homebase.
He later started his training to be a nurse and, after a decade of hard work, is now the manager of the ward where his children were cared for – and he even works alongside some of the staff who supported him and his family at the time.
Paul, from Nottingham, said: “When I saw the brilliant work the staff on the neonatal unit did, it inspired me to become a nurse.
“From the day my twins were born I have dedicated my working life towards becoming a nurse on the neonatal intensive care unit. I became the ward manager of the neonatal unit at QMC in October – the very place where my twins were born. This means such a lot to me.”
Twins Ashley and Elisa were born five weeks early at at 5am on November 3, 2005, weighing 3lb 12oz and 5lb 1oz respectively.
Paul added: “Ashley needed some help to breathe at first and was a little on the small side, so he was taken to a ward which looks after premature babies – the neonatal unit.
“He spent two days on the unit and I visited him a couple of hours after he was moved.
“The team welcomed me in, handed Ashley to me and encouraged me to try feeding him. I had never held a baby before but it was great for me to learn the basics.”
The family remained in the NICU for three weeks because Elise was struggling to feed.
Paul said: “We received great support from Sue, a support worker, who looked after us all. She still works there today and I see her regularly at work.”
Paul was already stepfather to Thomas Palmer, 25, but admits at that time he couldn’t see himself having children of his own.
“This changed when the twins were born and I was trying to keep the tears from rolling down my face. It seemed so surreal that they were here,” he said.
In 2010 Paul started his training to become an adult nurse at university and began working at Nottingham University Hospitals three years later.
He started on an adult admissions ward, but later that year joined the neonatal team after going back to university to qualify in the neonatal speciality.
Paul hopes that his story will help inspire more fathers and men to pursuit nursing.
“One of the things I love about my job is caring for the babies,” he said. “Some of them are with us for 16 or more weeks and we build strong relationships with the families. While I enjoy being one of the few male nurses, we would benefit from getting some more on board, especially for the fathers of the patients.”