Rehab coach pays tribute to nurse who helped her turn life round

Kathyrn Hearn, 42, is currently a senior rehab coach at Recovery Connections, a charity based in the North East.

“She is understanding, and non-judgemental, and believes everyone deserves a chance at life”

Kat Hearn

In her role, she supports individuals to overcome addiction to alcohol or substances while steering them towards a life of health and balance.

However, the mother-of-two’s recovery from alcohol was not easy. “It started with a litre of cider with friends and going to pubs as a 16-year-old on a Friday night in Middlesbrough,” she said.

However, her life as a 22-year-old took a downturn when she lost her fiancé in a car accident, which escalated her alcohol consumption when she started drinking heavily to cure her pain.

But she said: “I fell into addiction after my second child was born. It started with a glass of red wine cooking the evening meal which developed into two glasses, then the bottle.

“Before I knew it the bottle wasn’t enough,” she said, noting that this quickly turned into an addiction and she ended up losing her children, partner, home, job and driving licence.

She was in and out of the accident and emergency department during 2018 – either due to being found unable to respond or having inflicted self-harm related to alcohol consumption.

It was in James Cook University Hospital where Ms Hearn met former A&E nurse and current alcohol care co-ordinator Jessica Beck, who she recalls used to treat her with love and compassion.

“I don’t remember meeting Jess but I feel that I made a lasting impression on her. Although we can laugh about it today apparently, I was not very pleasant to her back then,” she said.

These interactions, however, helped create a strong bond that was crucial for Ms Hearn in her struggle to quit alcohol.

Ms Beck said: “I met Kat many years ago when I was a nurse in A&E, she was known as Kathryn back then.

“She could be very chaotic when she was a patient, wanting to go outside for a cigarette when staff were trying to carry out assessments and wasn’t happy if stopped from doing so.”

Ms Beck subsequently referred her to the hospital intervention liaison team for further treatment and then started her rehabilitation journey at the Recovery Connections rehab facility.

“Kat is a shining example to those who are still struggling with alcohol dependency”

Jessica Beck

Since then, she has been sober for just over four years. Moreover, she has become a senior rehab coach by volunteering, completing an ambassador programme and moving into paid work.

Ms Hearn said: “Alcohol didn’t just ruin my life it ruined the lives of all those who loved me. I think Jess and the alcohol care team (ACT) are very valuable, and they are changing people’s lives.

“She is the perfect person to run the alcohol care team. She is understanding, and non-judgemental, and believes everyone deserves a chance at life no matter how many times you have to try.

“It did not bother her that I was the girl who used to come into A&E, and that I was an alcoholic in recovery,” she noted.

“We are now best friends and I think about how different my life would be if that random nurse from A&E did not make me her bestie – she came into my life when I needed her the most,” she added.

Ms Beck said that she met Ms Hearn through Recovery Connections when she began setting up the ACT in August 2022 at James Cook, which is run by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

“Kat is one of the kindest caring people I know, who is a loving mum to her two children,” said Ms Beck. “Over the last two years, Kat and I have become really good friends.

She added: “She has just celebrated four years of sobriety and has successfully gained promotion as a senior rehab coach. I am proud to call her my friend and proud of her achievements.

“Today, Kat is a shining example to those who are still struggling with alcohol dependency and how life on the other side of alcohol addiction can be by showing patients what can be achieved through hard work and dedication to become sober. She is an amazing support to patients and ACT staff.”

Ms Hearn is now an active member of Recovery Connections, which was established in Middlesbrough in 2008.

Since early 2024, two of the charity’s lived experience ambassadors have supported the alcohol care team at James Cook by sharing their stories and experiences.

Recovery Connections chief executive Dot Smith said: “Kat has been an important part of our longstanding team of lived experience recovery coaches across North East for the past few years.

“Kat’s journey, like the many journeys of recovery within the charity, shows others who faced similar challenges that recovery is possible for everyone,” she said.