BNU student nurse celebrated by Youtube star
Social media personality Grace Victory says her fast recovery from COVID-induced coma was thanks to BNU student nurse
Alice Finnigan, a student nurse at Buckinghamshire New University, went above and beyond for COVID survivor Grace in her darkest hour, and has been celebrated on social media as a hero.
Grace Victory, a Youtuber and social media influencer from High Wycombe, contracted COVID in late 2020 while heavily pregnant. With her condition worsening quickly, on Christmas Eve her doctors made the difficult decision to induce the baby two months early and put Grace into a coma.
Weeks went by and Grace was given an incredibly slim chance of survival. Grace and her family received an outpouring of support and well-wishes from her 250,000 strong social media following, with hundreds of people hoping and praying for Grace’s recovery on Twitter and Instagram every day.
Despite suffering multiple organ failures and cardiac arrest, Grace finally woke up on 8 March 2021 and was reunited with her son, Cyprus, now 10 weeks old.
But it wasn’t plain sailing. Grace said that due to muscle wastage and weakness, she lost the ability to move and the strength to hold her child.
After spending the beginning of the year in the ICU, Grace was moved to Alderbourne Rehabilitation Unit, within The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where she met 19-year old student nurse, Alice, who was on placement.
Alice, from Hayes, and Grace formed a bond, with the student nurse taking time to sit and talk to Grace every day for 4 weeks. Grace commented on social media: “Not only was [Alice’s] medical care spot on, she listened to me cry, held my hand on my bad days and made me laugh every day. She’s 19 but the most attentive, caring and compassionate nurse in training I’ve ever met.”
Alice puts it down to instinct: “Because of the time we spent together, I began to know when something wasn’t right with Grace mentally or physically and made sure to spend some extra time talking her through it.”
Grace was discharged on 8 May and took to social media to celebrate Alice, calling her a “friend for life” and attributing her speedy recovery to her positivity and reassurance.
Alice, who is in her first year of BSc Adult Nursing, said: “I was there the day Grace was brought to the ward. She was visibly upset so my first instinct was to reassure her that she was in a safe place and that she would overcome all the obstacles that were in front of her.
“I have always wanted to be a nurse. I was quite clumsy as a child and my parents were always running me to and from the hospital! I saw the work nurses were doing and I was amazed by them.
“To be able to help people gives me pride and to know that I’ve helped someone’s recovery or made it easier for them during their care is very special.”
Alice continued: “Before this placement, I didn’t actually realise the recovery process for post-COVID patients and how much it affects their lives long term. It is such a heart-breaking time to start as a student nurse, but it has definitely reinforced my decision to become one.”
Alice started her nursing training during the COVID-19 pandemic, so her first year has been a very different learning environment, both within the university and her placement experiences. Despite this, her obvious passion and dedication for nursing, not to say her compassion and empathy, have already shown the incredible nurse that she will be at the end of her nursing studies.Christopher Tapping Programme Lead for BSc Nursing Programmes
To say that I am proud is an understatement. Nursing is an incredible profession and Alice’s grace and humility really encapsulates the altruistic approach taken by our student nurses during this pandemic.
Lisa Reynolds, Head of School for Nursing and Allied Health, also commented, "I am incredibly proud of Alice and of all the nursing students and learners at Buckinghamshire New University; their contribution to the pandemic response has been immense and has supported the delivery of care throughout.
"This powerful story reminds us of the difference that students make to many people’s lives and the importance of a person centred approach. We must thank them for this and their commitment to patient care."
