9/11 Survivor To Nurse: Jocelyn Brooks’s Mission to Care for Cancer Fighters
Image source: CBS News
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Jocelyn Brooks was on the 40th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, working in finance—far from the clinical settings she’d once dreamed of. What she experienced that day, and the years that followed, transformed not just her personal life, but her vocation. Brooks’s journey from survivor to nurse offers powerful lessons for all of us in the healing professions: purpose, resilience, and service.
Childhood and Mother’s Influence
In a personal essay published by the Oncology Nursing Society, Jocelyn Brooks explains that her nursing journey was shaped long before 9/11. It is deeply rooted in the resilience and compassion she witnessed in her childhood.
Growing up in Trinidad, Brooks watched her mother care for twelve children with very limited access to routine health care. “We received our childhood vaccines at school, and my mother took care of the rest. She was our seamstress, cook, hairdresser, spiritual leader, and most importantly, our healer.”
Her mother’s resourcefulness—serving as both healer and caretaker in the family—left a lasting impression that inspired Brooks to help others, even in the face of daunting obstacles. “I prided myself in anticipating her next move as I held out scissors, tape, gauze, alcohol, iodine, and sometimes even a lit candle. For some wounds, she felt that heat benefitted healing. I was fascinated by her ability to care for us, and that’s where my passion for health care was born.”
Brooks credits her mother’s example for instilling the sense of urgency and compassion that defined her approach to patient care. The lessons of resilience, sacrifice, and unconditional support became the blueprint for her nursing career, translating childhood adversity into a lifelong commitment to healing others.
Surviving 9/11 and Finding Purpose
After a move to the US, she started working in Finance.
On September 11, 2001, she was working at Lehman Brothers when the Twin Towers were hit. “When One World Trade Center was hit and I was sitting in my cubicle, and I stood up and I looked out and I saw the debris that was coming down, in my heart, I knew that I was going to die,” she told CBS News.
Racing down 40 flights of stairs, she made it out alive—a moment that led her to reassess her life’s purpose.
A Career Transformation
In her essay, Brooks said that her “decision to leave finance and become a nurse wasn’t immediate, but it became inevitable.” She eventually left her successful finance career behind at the age of 48 to become a nurse, a decision she says was fueled by both her survival and her childhood experiences.
“It wasn't my first career path, but it was my first passion,” she said, attributing her drive to her mother’s example of caring for 12 children in Trinidad without access to regular healthcare. She eventually graduated from nursing school after nearly a decade of perseverance.
Caring for Cancer Survivors
Brooks now works in the bone marrow transplant unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she often cares for patients battling cancer linked to 9/11 exposure. “Every day, I walk into a room and meet patients who are fighting battles of their own, often with cancers that were caused by the same disaster I survived. I care for them, hold their hands, listen to their stories, and offer support in what is often the most difficult time in their lives.”
Sharing this special bond, Brooks said, “It's a blessing, and I'm going to care for them. I'm going to give them the best care,” reflecting her commitment to supporting fellow survivors. “This is the journey I was chosen for.”
Advocacy and Future Impact
Brooks actively advocates for ongoing funding to treat 9/11 responders and survivors, warning, “As we get older, chances of us developing cancer would increase, and if there’s no funding, then what happens? Are we going to just die because of a lack of funding?” She urges legislators to “go out there and fight for us”.
She concluded, “Each day, I feel grateful for the opportunity to serve those who need it most. Many people live their entire lives and never find their purpose. I survived for a purpose. I know now that my purpose is to serve, to heal, and to offer hope.”
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