A brave Dundee nursing student has battled back from the brink of death to graduate from university. Doctors told Andrina Begg’s family ‘to prepare for the worst’ after she suffered a near fatal brain aneurism.
The 49-year-old - who has spent 30 years working in the care sector - said the experts weren’t sure if she would survive.
Andrina was in her final year of a mental health nursing degree when she fell unwell.
She had progressed through the first three years of her course well and formed great relationships with her Abertay University lecturers who guided her through placements as part of her course.
However, in her fourth year, she was rushed to hospital after suffering from a ruptured brain aneurism causing a bleed on the brain, which had to be operated on to insert coils.
Andrina said: “It was a really scary time. I was hospitalised for three weeks and don’t remember anything from the first week of being in there.
"Doctors weren’t sure for a while if I would survive, and my family were told to prepare for the worst.”
She added: “The covid-19 pandemic meant that I couldn’t see my family throughout the whole ordeal which was very upsetting when you’re so unwell.”
Andrina, who already had a grandson, was expecting the arrival of two new granddaughters when she fell ill.
She explained: “Both of my son’s partners were pregnant with my granddaughters at the time and both my sons were worried their daughters would have to grow up without their granny.
“It was then I knew I had to get better and finish my course. I wanted to be a positive role model for them and show them they could do anything they put their minds to.”
Andrina needed at total of six months off from her studies to fully recover before returning to Abertay.
But lecturers and staff ensured she got the support she needed and extra time to complete work and placements which allowed her to successfully finish her course.
She is now working as a nurse within NHS Tayside having secured a job before Graduation.
Andrina says: “I am on cloud nine now that I’ve finished university and started working as a nurse. I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved.
“If you’re considering going to university but you’re unsure my advice is to go for it. You’ll get all the support you need to succeed no matter what life throws at you.”
And she added: “I wouldn’t be working in my dream role if I hadn’t taken the chance and enrolled in university.”
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