Marian worked as a nurse. When Eli was 14, she was accidentally infected with HIV when she attempted to restrain a drug addict in the ER; she was pricked by a used needle and contracted the virus. Unfortunately, her husband couldn't deal with the issue and left her and Eli. She lost her medical coverage, and with Eli unemployed, had to take a second job as a waitress to deal with the expenses. (SGU: "Air, Part 1", "Time")