Team K Squared
Much has been written in blogs recently about the Sande family in Bismarck. Almost all of it has been about my sister, Nancy, and and her husband, Doug. Almost nothing has been written about Team K², their two daughters, Kristin and Karli.
Nancy, Team K² and Doug
In my last post, Nancy (Njaa) Sande, I indicated that my sister and I were essentially strangers to each other until relatively late in our lives. The same is true with respect to my two nieces to an even greater degree.
While Kristin and Karli where infants and in their pre-teen years, we always saw them during our visits to North Dakota. They were very cute, energetic towheads who we were sure were headed for careers in show business or academia. Beginning with the time they became teenagers until relatively recently, we saw them infrequently during our visits.
Even though my contacts with Kristin and Karli have been very limited over the years, I still know some important things about them:
- Their parents adore them.
- They adore their parents.
- My mom (K & K called her Momo.) and dad (K & K called him Gaga. (!!??!!)) adored them.
- They were the reason Momo and Gaga moved to Bismarck.
- Both of them made it into show business. That is a compliment, and, if you meet them, you will agree.
- Kristin is a wonderful chef.
- Karli is a wonderful writer.
- Kristin has found Elli (The Bear) with whom to share her life.
- Karli has found Mick (The Mister) with whom to share her life.
- Both Ks, The Bear and The Mister are wonderful people, which leads me to the reason for this post.
To get to this post, you have had to learn my sister is dying of cancer. She is now at home under hospice care. Her primary caregiver is Team K², which now includes The Bear. Kristin and Karli have willingly put their lives and jobs on hold to be with and serve their mom during her final days. They are also caring for Doug who has late stage Parkinson’s. (If you are thinking that life has been very unfair to this family, you would be right.)
Team K² is doing an awesome job in so many ways. They fight through the sadness of the events to tell jokes and stories, listen to music and sit in the sun with their mom on the patio. They provide meals, take care of their parent’s physical needs and are participating in the planning of the final events. And, there is so much more.
What all this means to my sister is indescribable. She is so impressed with Team K² and is so grateful to them. My sister fights through the tears to give me that pitch every time I talk to her.
Here’s another thing I know to be true: Momo and Gaga (Sorry Dad.) are looking in from somewhere, and, while they could find what their daughter has gone through the last few years to be very troubling and sad, they are also extremely proud of their granddaughters.
Kristin losing her argument.
Karli winning hers.