The poem “When a Nurse Dies” aptly describes Nne Bishop, Nelly Nkechinyere Akomah, nee Akobundu, who devoted her life to caring for patients, supporting colleagues, and mentoring future nurses at the NHS Trust in the United Kingdom. Nne Bishop Nelly Nkechinyere Akomah died tragically on June 23rd, 2023, just as we were looking forward to her 77th birthday celebration after her 30-year nursing career in the United Kingdom. On her 77th, first posthumous birthday, June 26th, 2023, we remember how Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah, a retired caring nurse, was killed by a heartless trusted tradesman and found fatally wounded at the bottom of the stairs in her house.

Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah was born as the second of eleven children to Wilfred and Selina Akobundu on 26th June 1946 in Ngodo, Umunwanwa, Abia State. Her father gave her the name Nkechinyere, meaning ‘what God has given,’ bearing in mind that gender does not indicate children’s values to the world. Nne Bishop Nelly began her primary school education at St Michael’s Anglican Primary School, Aba, and later attended the prestigious Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls School, Elelenwa, Port Harcourt, as a boarding student. Her father’s transition and the aftermath of the Biafran War placed greater responsibility on her to support her siblings. Her dream of becoming an engineer was diverted towards nursing, a calling that spanned 30 years, impacted many lives, and gave her the opportunity to care for others.

In 1965, in pursuit of her nursing career with an impactful purpose, Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah enrolled at the School of Nursing at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. When the Biafra War began in 1967, she moved to Queen Elizabeth Teaching Hospital in Umuahia, now the Federal Medical Centre, to continue her training and work. During the war, she worked in military hospitals, refugee camps and clinics, including the war hospital in Owerri. She returned to UCH, Ibadan, to complete her training and qualify as a nurse. She later moved to Enugu Teaching Hospital, where she met and married Ikechi Akomah, and the marriage was blessed with two daughters – Ijeoma and Chinwe.

Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah moved to London in 1974 to study midwifery and later practised as a Staff Nurse at St Helier Hospital and then St James Hospital, Balham. In 1990, shortly after becoming a British citizen, she completed her Diploma in District Nursing and began to work at Tooting Health Clinic. She later completed many courses, including an Advanced Diploma in Specialist Practice Teaching at Nescot in Surrey in 1997. She also attended courses in prescribing medicines and caring for patients with dementia, diabetes, and hypertension in the Afro-Caribbean community, and many more. She retired in 2006 after serving the community for 16 years of her 30-plus-year career in nursing.

Celebrating Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah at 80 offers a model of lay leaders who saw her nursing profession as a calling, a lifestyle, a way of living, working and walking with God and people. At 80, we celebrate Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah; we remember not only her years as a nurse and mother, but also the difference she made by stepping into people’s lives through special moments in her community, home, and abroad. Duane Jaeger, RN, MSN, in her poem ‘She was There,’ resonates with Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah’s passionate practice: ‘When a calming, quiet presence was all that was needed,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘In the excitement and miracle of birth or in the mystery and loss of life,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘When a silent glance could uplift a patient, family member or friend,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘At those times when the unexplainable needed to be explained,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘When the situation demanded a swift foot and sharp mind,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘When a gentle touch, a firm push, or an encouraging word was needed,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘To witness humanity, its beauty, in good times and bad, without judgment,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘To embrace the woes of the world, willingly, and offer hope,’ Nne Bishop was there. ‘And now, that it is time to be at the Greater One’s side,’ Nne Bishop is there.

Sadly, on 23rd June 2023, when the heartless individual and his accomplice attacked Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah, she was alone until morning, when her sister found her wounded at the bottom of the stairs in her house. Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah’s passionate nursing ethics reminds us, ‘When a nurse dies, the halls remember. Not in echoes, but in the hush that settles over a place once warmed by her presence. When a nurse dies, the beds whisper stories of hands that held, of words that healed, of moments she carried alone, so others didn’t have to. She didn’t wear armour, but she went to war against time, pain, fear, and death and many times, she won. But now she lies still, and for once, it is we who stand by her bedside. We who whisper, “thank you.” We who weep in the silence she once filled with strength. She didn’t leave the world quietly. She left with the honour of the unseen, the dignity of the overworked, the grace of the forgotten heroine.

When a nurse dies, it is not the end of her shift. It is the rise of her legacy. In every pulse she steadied, in every tear she caught, and in every “you’re not alone” she offered, her spirit lives on. So let us not mourn her in sorrow, but in sacred awe.

Let us tell the world: A light has gone out, but its warmth remains. In every nurse who stays late, who holds hope like a fragile flame, who walks in her footsteps with trembling hands and open heart, she lives again. She is not gone. She is just on the other side of healing. A place where alarms don’t beep, and hearts never break. So, rest now, brave soul. Your hands have done enough. Your shift is complete. And oh what a shift it was.’

Celebrating Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah’s 80th posthumous birthday is a beautiful way to honour a lifetime of compassion together with the legacy of her healing hands, the historical significance of her era, and the enduring love she left behind at the NHS Trust, Upper Tooting Methodist Church (UTMC), Nigeria Methodist Mission, UK, Igbo Cultural Community, UK, and her traditional community in southeast Nigeria. She was the first Black person elected to the role of Worship Co-ordinator in the late 1990s. She served as a Communion Steward and Class Leader. She led the UTMC Nigeria Fellowship and served as a Patron of the Ghanaian and Men’s Fellowships. She also played a key role in setting up the North London Fellowship, which was inaugurated in January 2020.

Despite the impactful traits, steady hand, and comfort she brought to the ward, the legacy of Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah is not complete without her lay leadership and stewardship in God’s mission. Beyond formal church or community titles, Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah, at 80, provides a missional model of leadership based on her influence, lived experience, and selfless service to others. Her leadership was built on a foundation of caring profession, emotional intelligence, community building, and lifelong sacrifice, offering valuable lessons that extend far beyond the home into the church, neighbourhood and organisations.

Among the core traits of lay leadership, Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah points to her decades of nurturing, overcoming betrayals and disappointments, and wiping tears of others through her sacrificial time and commitments. As a servant leader, she nurtured and established an organic, deeply earned loyalty and respect at home and abroad. Her relational wisdom, accumulated over almost 77 years of experience, typically translates into high empathy, strong conflict-resolution skills, and the ability to unite families or communities. Her seen and unseen mentorship quietly guides younger generations, offering wisdom, prayer, unity, and stability at home, churches, and local communities. Her resilience and adaptation over almost 77 years have impactfully navigated immense generational shifts, especially ‘moving from paper-based worlds to the modern digital age, showcasing adaptability in practice,’ and communication. Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah exemplified how missional ‘leadership is about empowering others, building strong emotional foundations, and ensuring the well-being of the collective group.’ She not only empowered others but also sponsored some youth in southeast Nigeria for Methodist theological training.

Nne Bishop Nelly was passionate about how good nutrition could improve health and heal the body. She educated herself about the power of healthy eating and other holistic therapies. Her love of travel and inquisitive nature took her across the world. Some of the countries she visited include France, Israel, Jamaica, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Ghana, and Barbados. She went on a Holy Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2010 and was baptised at Yardent on the River Jordan. In 2023, she was due to celebrate her 77th birthday in Rome with her sister Rose, with a visit to Vatican City.

I am forever in awe of Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah’s orderly grace, her service and sacrifice for her family, church, and community, and her exuberant style.