Northeastern London grad has big plans for writing and healing
Britain’s first deaf-blind doctor says Northeastern “was honestly the best decision I’ve made. Sometimes I think you’ve got to be spontaneous.”
LONDON — One day after receiving a master’s degree in creative writing from Northeastern University London, Alexandra Adams was on the sofa of “This Morning,” one of Britain’s most popular daytime shows.
Adams shared photos and video of the moment she walked the stage at Northeastern London’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday and received booming applause. In addition to the master’s degree, she also received a medical degree that has taken more than 10 years to earn. It was the culmination of more than a rollercoaster decade of academic achievement and personal setbacks, which was “surreal” and “absolutely mad,” she told the hosts.
But receiving two degrees was just the start of a busy week for Adams, who will follow her talk show appearance by starting work next week as Britain’s first deaf-blind doctor.
Adams celebrated both of these achievements at the university, where she said she had finally found a group of tutors and students who “feel like family,” she told Northeastern Global News during the sunny ceremony at Barbican Centre. “To be able to come to Northeastern, which is an amazing place and an amazing community, to celebrate not just one but two degrees, I have no words. As a writer, I have no words.”
For the 32-year-old from Kent, just outside London, the journey so far has included an athletic career and medical heartbreak, achieving an unprecedented feat while facing disability discrimination. If this life story has the feeling of a great work of literature, this is exactly the idea that led Adams to find her literary voice at Northeastern.
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A story to tell
Nine years into training as a doctor in Wales, Adams arrived at Northeastern University London with a story to tell, one that began with being registered deaf and blind at birth. Books and art were her first loves, she said, but she soon set out to become an athlete in her teens, when the opportunity arose to train as a swimmer for Great Britain.
Having trained with the ambition to reach the London 2012 Paralympics, she found her path was blocked when she endured multiple hospitalizations and surgeries that put an end to her competitive sports career. These periods of ill-health meant missing out on taking her A-Level qualifications, exams taken by UK students typically during the final two years of high school required in order to enrol at an institution of higher learning. But “it was whilst I was in the hospital bed that I was inspired to look into medicine as a career,” she said, and follow in the footsteps of the workers of the British National Health Service (NHS) who treated her.
At medical school, Adams has used social media to document the highs and lows of studying while deaf-blind and also suffering from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects connective tissue. One TikTok video, explaining how her Bluetooth stethoscope connects to her hearing aids and allows her to take a patient’s heartbeat, has amassed 2.9 million views.
Adams has endured discrimination from early life, she said, including during her medical education, which forced her to take a break when she was mere months from qualifying as a doctor.
“At the time, I genuinely thought it was the end of the road” for her dream of becoming a doctor, she said, forcing her to start looking for other work.
“In my job search, I randomly came across an advert for a master’s in creative writing at Northeastern London, and I will admit I’d never heard of a university before,” Adams explained. “I did a bit of research and – oh my gosh – it was honestly the best decision I’ve made. Sometimes I think you’ve got to be spontaneous.”
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On arrival at Northeastern, Adams had already begun work on a memoir that would tell her journey to becoming the country’s first deaf-blind doctor and her talent was immediately apparent, said Claire Griffiths, the lead of the master’s degree contemporary creative writing program.
“From the moment Alexandra applied we were struck by the power of her writing, but we were also aware that she had already faced huge challenges in her educational journey, including discrimination,” Griffiths said. “So we felt a real sense of responsibility to offer a different experience, in which she could feel comfortable, supported and encouraged by a community of fellow writers.”
Being in “a slightly smaller university” at Northeastern’s Devon House helped her feel much more supported, said Adams.
“Everyone was so friendly. They treat you like everyone else,” she said. “You’re on the same level and you’re constantly bouncing off each other with some really exciting ideas.”
When she finished her creative writing course in 2025, the opportunity arose to also finish up her medical studies at Northeastern, setting the stage for this week’s double-degree.
“I’m starting work as a doctor next week – so a bit terrifying but so exciting and I’m just so happy,” she said.
For Adams, the future includes working to heal others alongside a plan to tell the story of how she made it.
