PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — May is National Nurses Month, a time to recognize, thank and celebrate nurses who make a difference in and out of the medical field.
One Palm Beach County health care worker is being recognized for her impact on her patients.
Kelly Sudell was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) back in 2014.
"Only one in four people survive with AML, so it's very aggressive," Sudell said.
When the nursing industry was facing critical staffing shortages, there was one nurse whom Sudell calls an angel on earth that helped her get through it all.
Katie Noll is an infusion nurse at Tampa General Hospital's Cancer Center in Palm Beach Gardens. At a time when Sudell was at her lowest, she said Noll was just her friend.
"I think it was just her ability to be normal in a sense," Sudell said. "You don't want the pity. She was an emotional support. She was always there to answer my questions, make me feel comfortable and really explain to me what was going on."
Nine years later, a major milestone, Sudell is going through remission after two bone marrow transplants.
"She's a lifesaver," Sudell said. "I could cry just thinking about it. A one-of-a-kind, one-in-a-million person that can do something like that."
When Noll is not saving lives like Sudell's, she's spending her time with her family and participating in CrossFit.
"CrossFit kind of really gives me that competitive edge that not all exercise does," Noll said. "It's kind of like that hour of my day where I can just decompress from work, kids, life and it gets those good endorphins going."
She even participates in competitions, placing third in her last one.
"It's a balance for sure," Noll said. "But I feel it's a healthy balance."
Noll is a true unsung hero lifting weights and lifting spirits.
