Young carer bids to become midwife after mum almost died giving birth to her
A teenager, who has spent the last two years juggling college alongside being a young carer and an award-winning athlete, is looking forward to achieving her dream of becoming a midwife after securing her place at university with three A grades in her A-levels.
Lydia Williamson-Price, 19, has overcome a number of personal challenges over the last year to secure her spot at university, including a sudden hospitalisation, the loss of her grandfather, a medical diagnosis, and balancing her studies with her caring and sporting roles.
Having grown up supporting her dad to care for her disabled mum, brother, Lydia, from Mountain Ash, developed a passion for care and always knew she wanted to work in the health sector.
The Coleg y Cymoedd student, who is also a medal-winning high diver, is now excited to start her midwifery degree at the University of South Wales this September.
She was inspired to pursue the career after hearing about her mother’s own difficult birthing experience, which resulted in her spending more than a month in intensive care, and after speaking to some of the nurses who looked after her when she was a baby in the special care unit.
Lydia said: "When I was born, I went straight into special care and my mum was in the ICU for a long time after almost dying giving birth to me. We were always very thankful to the team who took care of us, and I grew up taking part in a lot of fundraising with mum for a local charity that supported mothers who had traumatic births and whose babies wereunwell.
“Through this, I also got to meet the nurses who cared for me when I was little. I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact that midwives can have, and I really want to make a difference helping mums and their little ones.
“Women are in a vulnerable place when they give birth and I want to make their experience as comfortable as possible. My goal is to advocate for women and give them the voice to have the birth they want. I’m so excited to start my course at university - I can’t wait to get stuck in!”
However, it’s not been an easy road to university for Lydia after a challenging 12 months forthe young carer. In the lead-up to Christmas 2023, her grandad, whom she considered to be her best friend, died.
Then, at the start of the new year, she was suddenly taken ill with glandular fever and sepsis, which led to infections harming the function of her organs, and a hospital stay in the ICU of more than two weeks over her birthday.
As a result, Lydia had to take two months off college to recover. Having lost all her strength, the illness also put a stop to one of her passions – sport, in particular high diving, which she had been doing since she was six years old.
Growing up an active child, Lydia started cheerleading and high diving from a young age, going on to compete in national championships in both sports.
After developing a love for high diving, at 13, she started shadowing coaches before getting her own qualifications and becoming a teacher herself at Aberdare Leisure Centre as soon as she turned 16, delivering evening classes four times a week to children and adults, all while studying.
As a talented high diver, Lydia benefitted from being selected for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) at Coleg y Cymoedd, the only college in Wales with TASS Dual Career accreditation.
Designed to help athletes aged 16 and above balance their time and achieve their goals without compromise, the programme offers learners a dual pathway for academic and athletic excellence.
A previous scoliosis diagnosis during the pandemic had already brought Lydia’s cheerleading to a halt, but her time in hospital meant she had to also give up her teaching, though she hopes she’ll be able to pick it back up later this year once her health improves.
Lydia said: "I fell completely in love with high diving as soon as I first tried it. I got myqualifications as soon as I could because I was so passionate about it. I love teaching it.
"When I’m on the poolside, I forget about everything else that is going on in my life. It is an escape - somewhere I just love to be - so having to give that up has been really hard. I’m hoping to start back up over the summer, if my health allows it."
After taking a break from education following her grandad’s death and her illness, Lydiawas worried about the impact on her studies.
Determined not to let anything affect her chances of going to university, she put her head down and worked closely with her tutors to catch up on missed work.
Lydia added: "It was hard seeing all my friends go off to university last year while I went to college, but it was the best decision I could have made. I knew I needed to figure out a different path to get to where I wanted to be.
"Joining Coleg y Cymoedd made a huge difference to me. The more independent collegelearning style suited me better and the support I’ve received here as a young carer has been incredible.
"When everything happened earlier this year, I was concerned about what it would mean for my learning. I went from having 100% attendance last year to missing a lot ofcollege.
"However, the college was so understanding when I took time off and did all they could tohelp me, giving me the space to recover while still checking in to make sure I was okay and supplying me with lessons I could do at home. I’m so thankful and I now can’t wait to enterthe next stage of my life thanks to their support."
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...