My sister Karen

My sister Karen is five years older than me and lives in Clifton Beach, Queensland, Australia. She is building a new home on a hill above the beach. The Coral Sea with the Great Barrier Reef are one km east of her. It is paradise for beach lovers and scuba divers. As a bonus, they are 40 km SSE of the Daintree Rainforest Park.

In the late 1990s, I was thoroughly confused and had completely lost my way in life. I had checked in a psych ward to see if they had any better ideas than committing suicide. They suggested I call my sister and ask her for help getting my life together. Karen stepped up to the plate in a big way. She sent me off to drug rehab, bought me a condo with a doorman so I would have a safe place to live where addicts could not simply walk up to my door. At the time, it was living proof that misery loves company—they knew I was trying to quit and kept coming by with drugs to derail my sobriety.

We lived together for a year in a larger condo in the same building. It was the nicest bedroom I have ever had. I had a fantastic view of Mt Rainier from my 16th floor sliding glass door of a bedroom window. The bathroom had a giant soaking tub and a drive-in shower that worked great for my wheelchair.

Since then, we did not see that much of each other besides the occasional meal together. We have always stayed in touch by trading emails. She has lived in Sydney, Australia full-time for several years and just moved to Queensland last month.

Karen is married to her second husband, Frank. He is a really nice man and they have a great relationship building a life together in the Outback. (Ok, it is not really the Outback, but it is definitely in the way far back of beyond!)

As a way of showing my gratitude for her love and support, I now get to be there others that need love and support, namely Dan H. and my mother Beverly. Helping them is an indirect way of repaying my sister for all the help she so freely gave me.

As I was telling my doctor today, I would not be alive now if it had not been for my sister's help in getting my life together. As you might imagine, I am really grateful for the love and support she has shared with me over the years. I love her very much.