A grandmother has said her late husband would be proud of her for achieving a decades-long dream.
Jenny Lymburn, 55, recently completed an apprenticeship and has officially qualified as an occupational therapist.
During her journey, she was supported by her husband Gary, before his death from cancer on December 31, 2023, aged 52.
Jenny Lymburn has achieved a goal she set out at the start of her career – shortly after the death of her husband. Picture: ESNEFT
Jenny, who works for Ipswich Hospital’s Reactive Emergency Assessment Community Team (REACT), said: “I’m so proud to finally wear an occupational therapist’s uniform, but I’m so sad Gary will never get to see me wear it.”
Jenny first joined the team at Ipswich Hospital 21 years ago.
Upon joining as an occupational therapist assistant, she immediately knew it was what she wanted to do, although it required years of training plus extra education.
Jenny was proud to have made it this far, but was sad that Gary would never see her in uniform. Picture: ESNEFT
Jenny said: “Training without working was never an option – I just couldn’t afford it, so being able to study while being employed was fantastic.
“Gary was so supportive all through those years and when he was poorly I nearly stopped the course, but he said ‘you’ve worked so hard, don’t stop now.’ ”
Her journey towards her dream included taking a level three National Vocational Qualification in health and social care, a foundation degree and finally an apprenticeship, which she began in 2022.
She was the first person to have completed an apprenticeship as an occupational therapist under Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Ipswich Hospital.
Jenny began working for Ipswich Hospital 21 years ago. Picture: ESNEFT
The grandmother-of-three told of how she took a small break when Gary’s health deterioated, but soldiered on through to complete her course with first-class honours.
Now, she supports patients in the community in their homes to prevent hospitals admission.
As to how she motivated herself to finish despite all she’d been through, Jenny added: “It helped when I returned to the course as I had something to focus on, and the team have been so supportive, but it breaks my heart Gary will never see me achieve my goal.
“Age isn’t a barrier to learning and I know he’d be so proud of me.”
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