Little girl who beat cancer... and now works with nurse who helped save her
AFTER battling cancer as a fouryear- old, it was always Clara Markiewicz’s ambition to work as a children’s nurse.
She wanted to follow in the footsteps of hospital staff who helped save her life. Now 20 and a student nurse, she has done just that – by working with one of the nurses who cared for her.
The remarkable coincidence occurred when Miss Markiewicz was sent to Southampton Children’s Hospital for her first work placement as part of her degree.
‘On my third day I was sitting having my lunch and a woman walked in,’ she said. ‘She was obviously quite senior but was talking to lots of people.
‘I was trying to look at her name badge without falling off my seat or being noticed because I thought I recognised her. She then caught my eye and said, “I know you” and I said the same – “I know you”.’
The woman was Kate Pye, now head of nursing at the hospital, who 16 years ago had been one of Miss Markiewicz’s favour- ite nurses at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Miss Markiewicz added: ‘It was amazing, we both had old photos which we swapped and showed each other. It was really good to see her.’
Mrs Pye, 46, said: ‘I was amazed to see Clara. You do not forget a name like hers. I hadn’t seen her for so long but it was lovely to see her. To me she looked the same, although I was standing in front of a 20-year- old student nurse I could still see the four-year-old.
‘I remember Clara did really well with her treatment. She was quite a poorly little girl but did amazingly well. She had been really brave and been through so much.
‘She’s moved around, travelled and I’ve done the same so it’s amazing to meet again. I’m sure she’ll be a brilliant nurse.’
Miss Markiewicz, from High Barnet, North London, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia – a rare cancer of the white blood cells – in 2001 after her parents Ingrid and Chris noticed bruises on her body and took her to the doctor. She spent six months at the Royal London Hospital, undergoing four rounds of chemotherapy and several operations.
A clinical trial helped save her life after she was given a 50/50 chance of survival – and she has been cancer-free ever since. The children’s ward at the Royal London closed in 2003 so her followup appointments were elsewhere. But she always remembered the nurse who helped her. ‘It was sad and a scary place but the nurses made it fun. Kate would sit on my bed or lie under the duvet and watch movies with me,’ she said. ‘The staff were always professional and they were so good that it meant the bad things didn’t stay bad for long. They were like big sisters. Most were around the age I am now. ‘I was about ten when I realised I wanted to be a nurse. I’ve always loved children and I know firsthand how important nurses are to the kids.’ She is in the first year of her chil- dren’s nursing degree at the University of Southampton. Of her placement at Southampton Children’s Hospital, she said: ‘It was weird to be back in a hospital, because I spent so much time in them. It was quite emotional. It was eye-opening and really good too. I could say to a child “I understand” and actually mean it – because I’ve been through it.’
‘It’s amazing to meet her again’