Its not a coincidence that my sister, Karen Danes, was born during National Caregivers Month. She was born a caregiver and has spent her entire life taking care of others. She is the most compassionate person I know and a relentless advocate for patient and family caregiver rights. She retains the quaint notion that the care part of healthcare still matters. She has been my teacher durin gmore than two non-stop years of caregiving. She taught me how to clean feeding tubes, change ostomy bags and generally not lose my mind during some really dark periods. And I realize she does that work all day long and never complains. In fact, she loves what she does and her parents return that affection. She was always a pretty fierce older sister; the one who got the good grades and never talked or acted out in class. The model Danes cousin (dark hair and dark eyes helped, though). She could be very protective, but at the same time, shed freeze me out if I acted like an annoying little sister. (Yes, Karen, you and Susan Rankin banned me from Susans yard and particularly her driveway, the best driveway in Niles, Ohio, for rollerskating. Jennifer Stonebrook was witness to it!) She told me NEVER to listen to Jim Morrison and the Doors Light My Fire, so quite naturally it became my favorite song. She would get furious when I borrowed her clothes (but hey, they were hanging in my closet). She didnt mind when I peppered her with questions about her physics class (graciously never mentioning that I dont even believe in physics and was only remotely interested because I had a crush on her study partner, Jimmy Holloway). It was hard to have me as a little sister because what I lacked in actual achievement I more than made up for with my big mouth (I still operate under the belief that everyone is entitled to my opinion). But she (almost) never let her frustration show. So heres to you, Karen. Happy birthday. Have fun on the mountain. Watch out for bears (and Jay). Love you so, even though I am often pretty bad at showing it.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 19:12:00 +0000
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