A nursing student aspiring to fulfill her late mother’s dying wish has been left heartbroken after being prevented from completing her university studies just weeks before graduation.
Sophie Ohaeri, whose mother Carmelita was a microbiology lecturer and with whom she shared a close bond, had planned to have her tuition funded by her mother.
Tragically, in 2021, Carmelita was hospitalized due to an enlarged liver caused by prolonged use of pain medication, which she had been taking since suffering injuries in a 2010 home invasion when she fell from the roof.
Only weeks after Sophie, 34, began her nursing program at Hertfordshire University, she received the devastating news of her mother’s death. According to Sophie, doctors revealed that in her final moments, Carmelita had expressed her wish for her eldest daughter to become a nurse and “care for others.”
However, Sophie’s hopes of taking up a nursing position in the UK have been shattered, as she cannot access the course or graduate in September 2024 until she settles an outstanding debt of £11,500.
The Nigerian-born aspiring nurse shared: “When I was accepted into the course, my mum was overjoyed. We even threw a party to celebrate. She proudly said, ‘My daughter got admitted!’ and we began making plans.”
But disaster struck when Sophie, who had already relocated to Hertfordshire from Nigeria, received the unexpected and heartbreaking news of her mother’s passing, causing her to collapse in grief.
Sophie recalled: “It was a complete shock. I thought she was going to recover. We had so many plans, including her meeting the man I would marry someday. Even when she was ill, before I traveled, I stayed by her side in the hospital. There was even a time when she needed blood, and my siblings and I donated for her. Life will never be the same.”
After her mother’s funeral, Sophie was determined to fund her education on her own, working tirelessly day and night, carrying her work uniform in her bag, and rushing from her placement to shifts as a carer.
