Joanne Timperley always wanted to look after sick children. When she was young, she would dress up in a nurse's outfit and would tag along to work with her mum, who was a radiographer.
But after leaving school without any A levels, she worried her dream wouldn't be possible. Undeterred, at the age of 21, she began working on the wards at the former Pendlebury Children's Hospital, after completing a degree at night school.
Joanne's biggest setback came at the age of 26, when she was diagnosed with hearing loss. She has to wear hearing aids and lip reads to communicate, but says it's never held her back.
