Day 18 of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with Terri's Sister/Aunt/Support, Kimberly Kocan

Siblings are often your first friends, and perhaps, if things go awry in our lives, they become our supporters to help us through difficult times. My sister Kimberly, her husband, Jerry, and their three sons became a part of that ardent support system, even though K&J were raising their similarly aged kids at the same time and living in the Cleveland, Ohio, Metro area. We are a six-hour drive away from Cleveland, so it's not something anyone would want to do on a weekly basis, or even a biweekly basis. Visits were special occasions during those fraught years in the fight for our lives. Telephone calls helped tremendously (texting was coming in at that time in the late 1990s).

Kimberly and I share the helpful hit list of things to do from afar, or when visiting. From cooking, grocery shopping, and sanitizing the house before Ryan entered after being in the hospital, to playing Barbies with Olivia and playing games with the boys and Olivia (and on occasion, in the early days, Ryan when not hospitalized), those were precious times I fondly remember to keep us afloat when our whole world seemed to be crashing down all around us.

In truth, Kimberly's support went far beyond the practical day-to-day help, especially from a few states away. She, Jerry, and a team of volunteers (friends and family) even organized a large benefit back home in Cleveland in 2001 to ease the heavy load of expenses that come with childhood cancer, costs no one anticipates but every family shoulders. That kind of love, creativity, and action reminded me that siblings don't just share our beginnings; they can step in as lifelines when the road ahead feels impossible. I will forever be grateful for my sister's steady presence and the way she showed me, time and again, that family truly carries us through.

Never underestimate the power of a text, phone call, or a "Thinking of You" card by snail mail. I didn't feel all alone when someone buzzed me, even if I couldn't talk at that moment.

Terri