As a child, Carolyn Maynard’s early experience of hospitals brought fear and fascination in equal measures. But, as she tells Daniel Allen, the nurses she encountered left a powerful impression. Inspired by them, she went on to develop a career at the leading edge of chemotherapy nursing

IN A damp wooden hut in the Lake District, miles from anywhere, having walked 16km in driving rain, Carolyn Maynard experienced a revelation: no matter how difficult a situation may appear, with the support and encouragement of others, it is possible to achieve what may at first have appeared impossible.