The sister I don't know... yet

A few weeks ago, I was supposed to meet my sister, Bette, for the very first time in my life. A few months ago I didn't even know I had a sister. She had been given up for adoption at birth, for reasons only known to my parents. She is the daughter of both my parents, so we are full sisters. She is 8.5 years older than I am. She found me via the Internet (of all things! - heh).

Three weeks ago she and her husband, Steve, were going to fly out here. We would finally meet, get to know each other. But then the unthinkable happened. Steve had a stroke. Steve is 54, and no one had seen this coming.

OMG! While I was concerned and very sad for his pain, as well as my sister's, I was also very disappointed that I wouldn't get to meet her - yet. We had made so many plans, but it all melted away. It's been a haul for them, but he is now in rehab and starting to make some progress. I can't even imagine what he must be going through - a tremendous life change. Not one any of us would opt for. And Bette says she never imagined that she would be spending her life helping him to deal with this. Collateral damage.

So, now it turns out that I'll be attending a conference in Denver soon. That means I can piggyback onto the company sponsored airfare and pick up a trip out to visit Bette - and not have to tap very deeply into our meager discreational funds.

HooRah!