Tyece Ferguson’s unbelievable comeback - Woman overcomes broken neck to earn nursing degree

When Tyece Ferguson walks across the stage at the University of Technology (UTech) Jamaica this Saturday, she will be doing more than collecting a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree -- she will be celebrating a journey defined by courage, resilience, and triumph over the impossible.

The 28-year-old has overcome a life-altering workplace accident, financial hardship, and unplanned pregnancy to reach a milestone that once seemed unimaginable. In 2019, a seemingly ordinary day at work turned her world upside down. While pulling up a chair to complete a shift, she fell, unaware that the chair's back was broken. The fall left her with a spinal cord injury, confining her to a hospital bed at Kingston Public Hospital for 46 days.

She suffered a C4-C5 spinal cord injury, which is potentially life-changing as it can affect movement in the arms and legs, and, in some cases, breathing.

"I was scared. I couldn't sit up. I couldn't move left or right," she recalled. "All I kept asking was, 'Why me?' I thought I would die soon."

She underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery. The procedure was performed to stabilise the fractured bones, safeguard her spinal cord, and support her recovery. Ferguson said her doctors reassured her that she would regain the ability to walk which gave her a renewed sense of hope.

Watching the nurses care for patients, Ferguson felt a calling stirring deep within her. She had left Jose Marti Technical High School with eight Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects and was wavering about a career in either nursing or teaching. However, her time on the hospital bed brought things into sharp focus.

With skull traction still in place, she held her phone above her head and typed out applications to study nursing at UTech. She had no documents ready, but she applied anyway, determined not to let her injury define her future.

She was accepted.

By January 2020, Ferguson was discharged, but her challenges were far from over. She lacked the funds to enrol in university. Her grandmother encouraged her to push forward, and an attorney handling her workplace injury case stepped in to pay her first-year tuition.

The lawyer, Christine Mae Hudson, said there were no strings attached to the payment of the fees.

"She is a child of the soil, from humble beginnings, and understands the value of education," Mae Hudson said.

She added: "If I can touch lives and empower people through education, by helping to pay their way forward, then I'm proud to do so. She had the ambition, and I'm proud she made it through."

But life tested Ferguson again as she discovered she was pregnant in her second semester. Fear and disappointment threatened to derail her studies. She took a leave of absence to care for her newborn and returned to school in January 2023.

Balancing physiotherapy, parenthood, and tuition fees was gruelling, but Ferguson pressed even when the going got tough.

"I had to tell myself, you broke your neck and didn't die. You had a child. You don't have a father. Your baby's father left. Your mother isn't financially stable, but you will do it," she recalled.

And the fact that she hails from humble beginnings in Gutters, Old Harbour, St Catherine kept her grounded.

"I always told myself, 'You're from a little board house, no bathroom , you can't turn back now.'"

With careful saving, support from family and friends, and unshakable determination, Ferguson completed her courses while managing ongoing pain from her spinal injury. She excelled in her practicum, kept her grades up, and proved that resilience can turn adversity into achievement.

Now, she is preparing to graduate with first-class honours in nursing, a testament to her perseverance.

"Even now I feel pain sometimes, but I can look back and say I started and I finished. That is major for me, and I am really proud that I did it," she said.

For Ferguson, her milestone is more than a degree--it is proof that setbacks do not define the outcome. She hopes her story will inspire her daughter and others to face obstacles head-on.

"There will be obstacles, there will be failure, but always finish what you start," she said.