A nurse who uses a wheelchair is the first in the UK to have an assistance dog - at work.<br /><br />Chloe Hammond, 32, was diagnosed with a number of conditions aged 15.<br /><br />She has used a wheelchair since 2018 and has been training service dog Ocho for two years to help her at home - and and while on shift.<br /><br />He passed a series independent tests - certifying him to remain with her at work.<br /><br />At home he helps with tasks like unloading the washing machine, getting the post, undressing, and picking things up off the floor.<br /><br />While working, he helps out bringing Chloe her bag, getting her phone, passing things to colleagues and helping her remove her fleece if she gets too hot. <br /><br />When Chloe, a community care worker, from Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, is visiting patients who don’t want Ocho in their house, he stays with a dog sitter or goes to doggy day-care. <br /><br />If needed Chloe's colleagues are covered by work insurance to look after Ocho too. <br /><br />Chloe is currently thought to be the only nurse in the country to use an assistance dog and wheelchair.<br /><br />She wants to inspire others to pursue their dreams and consider jobs in the NHS.<br /><br />She said: "Nursing with a disability is hard - but an assistance animal brings a different angle.<br /><br />"I think he's the most handsome dog in the whole world - patients tell me all the time. Everybody loves him!<br /><br />"Even my boss loves him - he brings a different, calm energy. <br /><br />"Being around unwell people all the time means he's learned to control the excited puppy in him.<br /><br />''I took a couple of years out of work when I was quite unwell - since getting Ocho I've had multiple promotions, I'm enjoying being a nurse again.''<br /><br />Chloe has had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, Behçet's disease and Raynaud's syndrome since she was 15.<br /><br />She was also diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) in 2018.<br /><br />These conditions cause symptoms like chronic migraines, poor circulation and joint dislocation - and in 2016, she started using crutches to get around.<br /><br />But in 2018, a sudden headache left Chloe bedbound, and she was unable to move for 18 months.<br /><br />The time she spent in bed caused her to lose tone in her leg muscles - which meant they’d dislocate much more frequently.<br /><br />Once the migraine cleared, she could no longer walk using crutches - and a wheelchair was crucial to her quality of life.<br /><br />She stepped down from her job in paediatrics - on the intensive care ward in Bristol Children’s Hospital - to take up a job in the community. <br /><br />She says her Labrador Ocho - eighth in his pack - is her lifeline.<br /><br />He came from charity Dog Aid two years ago.<br /><br />Chloe has been nominated for the Nursing Times' Nurse of the Year Award.
