Jane Spence's story

Jane Spence, Fetal Medicine Midwife

“Before I started at Heartlands Hospital as a Fetal Medicine Midwife in July 2019, I had worked as a midwife at UHCW for over 25 years. I had only been doing my new job for around 8 months when the pandemic started.

“It was a baptism of fire for me, as I was out of my comfort zone and scared stiff when it became clear that the pandemic was going to last a while. I had to stop watching the news it was too much to take I and it was making me anxious.

“I have twin children, who have just turned 20. My son, Angus, is severely asthmatic and I worried about him every day. I would remove my uniform before I got into the house, shower and throw everything in the wash, then go and spend the rest of the evening in my bedroom on my own. He even went to stay with my mum for a while, but his asthma flared up so he had to come home. His best friends mum, who was a nurse at a hospital in Rugby, died after contracting COVID-19 and Angus was heartbroken and worried that something would happen to me.

“My mum went to stay with her friend that she bubbled with, my husband David and Angus stayed at home and myself and Charlotte, Angus’ twin, moved into my mum’s house. I knew that I needed to work throughout, and this seemed like the most sensible solution. Two weeks later we both tested positive for COVID-19, and as a result, I was off work for nine weeks. I am asthmatic too, and I even wrote a letter to my family in case I didn’t make it through.

“Once Charlotte and I had a negative test, we were able to return home, which was such a relief and so good for us to be back together as a family. It was also a relief to be able to get back to work and a bit of normality. I was able to come into work, do my job and spend time with my colleagues. Our work in fetal medicine didn’t stop so we have been supporting families in need of our services throughout the pandemic.

“Charlotte and I were lucky as we had each other, and whenever one of us was down, the other one would cheer them up. As a result of living through this experience together, we are even closer than we were – I don’t think I could have got through it without her.”