My sister was diagnosed with cancer on August 23, 2013 and I want to begin this nomination with some important background information that may explain my situation and why it is important to recognize exceptional health care providers. I serve as my sister's primary caregiver and power of attorney due to her mental illness. She has been medically disabled for several years now and has some speech problems that sometimes cause her difficulty in communicating with others. She has a wicked sense of humor and swears like a sailor. Just looking at her, you would never know she had anything wrong. She will yell, scream, curse, stutter and cry at appropriate times and at inappropriate times. I will admit that she can be a difficult patient at times. I am usually at every appointment to run interference between my sister and the medical professionals, but occasionally she will say something that offends someone before I can warn them. My sister is kind, funny, good natured, loving and compassionate.

My sister had her first day of chemotherapy on October 21, 2013 and Caroline was our nurse. This chemotherapy treatment consisted of Cisplatin and 96 hours of 5-FU. Caroline walked ("bounced" seems to be a better description) into the treatment room and into our lives. She immediately became fast friends with my sister and me.

You need to understand that this does not happen very often. Often, medical personnel use words that my sister does not understand, they talk too fast or do not take the time to explain. Caroline was quick to catch on to her sense of humor and was patient while she stuttered through her explanation of her situation. Caroline was so wonderful with my sister. She was our nurse the first day of treatment and she has never stopped finding us anytime we were on the treatment floor. We have had some rough patches during treatment. We spent many hours in those treatment rooms and Caroline would always bounce into our room just to check on us. I am crying as I write this because it brings back so many painful memories of how hard it was, but how much one person can mean to a patient and their family.

I have said over and over again - how can I repay The University of Kansas Cancer Center for saving my sister's life? It seems that recognizing an outstanding professional like Caroline for an award is a nice place to begin. On behalf of our entire family we Thank You Caroline!