Sydney Worth was one of my day nurses during the most traumatic time in my life. I had just fallen off a ladder about 8 feet straight down onto concrete. I was in excruciating pain having just broken 11 bones. All the nurses were terrific during my stay and Sydney was no exception. She provided me with all the proper, necessary care that she had been trained for. But, I could tell there was something more special about Sydney that went beyond her job. She was sincerely compassionate and caring beyond that training. She would truly listen to my needs and act upon them. Even though I couldn't see much of her face behind that mask, I could tell she was smiling and providing me comfort whenever she came into my room.

However, more important than what she did for me is what she had done for my daughter. My daughter is one of the most important people in my life and stayed with me every day as long as she was allowed. The last time I saw Sydney was during shift change when she came by for the last time with the night nurse. I had just found out I was needing some more x-rays, so after I said my goodbyes to Sydney, the x-ray tech and night nurse had to work to get those x-rays taken. I was rolled onto my side, screaming in pain - my daughter had to leave the room because she could not witness seeing me in that much pain. The x-ray tech then placed a hard x-ray board onto the bed and rolled me back onto the exact spot where I had broken three bones in my pelvic area - I screamed louder this time. My pain didn't end there because they had to do everything again to get that board out from underneath me when the x-rays were done.

Unbeknownst to me while this was going on, Sydney was leaving for the day, had her purse and lunch box in hand, heading toward the exit. She saw my daughter standing outside my room in tears, listening to my screaming, and walked right up to her. She took my daughter and walked her away from the room comforting her during this horrific time (my eyes are leaking right now while I'm writing this). Sydney didn't have to do that for my daughter, she could have kept going after a LONG shift and gone home for the rest of the day. But that's not who Sydney is - she showed me and my daughter exactly the type of caring, compassionate, giving person that she is. As much as Sydney did in taking care of my needs, the most important thing she did for ME was what she did for my daughter. I'll never forget that act of kindness for the rest of my life.