Sydney Marion RN, BSN Comprehensive Cancer Center
Nurse Sydney Marion credits her parents for instilling in her the commitment to care for others. “Both sets of grandparents lived with us when they became unable to live alone,” she says. “I have admired the spirit of caring I have witnessed in my parents’ lives my whole entire life and truly believe that’s where I inherited that desire to care for others.” As a student in high school, Sydney worked in nursing homes while earning her degree as a certified nursing assistant, and it was there that her love for geriatric patients grew even stronger. Later on in nursing school, as her first clinical experience she was placed on the hematology/ oncology floor and realized that she had found the place where she wanted to stay. Even today she says she never wants to leave oncology. Much of her time is spent with leukemia patients, many of whom have Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a rare and often aggressive form of leukemia. Since Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is one of the few hospitals on the East Coast specializing in AML treatment, patients come from all over for treatment. Sydney says she’s often asked how she continues caring for such critically ill patients, questioning how she manages to navigate around so much sadness. She attributes her strong faith for helping her maintain a positive attitude. “I truly believe God placed me here for a reason. To help patients and make a difference in their lives, “she says. “Working here helps me put so many things into perspective. The patients and their families truly are the kindest and most humble people ever. I want nothing more than to help them but I quickly realized they are changing my life just as much as I am trying to change theirs. It truly is an honor to be able to walk alongside them and take care of them during the hardest times of their lives.”
