Someone Like You:
Meet a Recipient
of the 2007 "Caregiver of the Year" Award:

Kimi Morton Chun, Honolulu, Hawaii

Nominated by: Sheila Warnock, Founder & President, ShareTheCaregiving, Inc.; read nominating letter

Care Recipient: Peggy Chun, Kimi's mother-in-law, who suffers from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, and requires 24-hour care. Peggy's identical twin, mother and grandfather also died of ALS.

In Kimi's words:

When I feel stressed, I: Call my mom. Mom is sane, level-headed and practical. She is my rock. Peg's world can get crazy. Peggy's house is visually chaotic. My mom's house is Zen. I like the balance.

My current challenge is: Peggy's communication is getting harder. I'm having a hard time and that breaks my heart. But, we've handled every stage of her disease, so we'll get through it. We also need to do more fundraising. I get stressed out about money.

When I have an extra five minutes, I: Do nothing. I'll sit down, have a cup of coffee, think and breathe.

The legacy I would leave to another family caregiver: In an airplane, they tell you to put your oxygen on first before helping someone else. You have to take care of yourself first. As women, we tend to put everyone else first. But then we don't serve our families in the long run. You have to take care of yourself first.

My 2008 goal is: Participate more in the larger picture by helping MDA, research organizations, and creating awareness. I also want to take care of myself and have more balance in my life."

Sometimes, life comes down to tiny decisions that ultimately become our monuments..

For Kimi Morton Chun, two decisions—to date—define her life.

The decisions sound relatively simple: To give her then-boyfriend and now-husband another chance and to organize a care team with Peggy's sister and best friend based on a book called Share the Care: How to Organize a Group to Care for Someone Who Is Seriously Ill by Cappy Capossela, Sheila Warnock.

The decisions caused an amazing domino effect. Her decision to give Eric a second chance meant that Kimi would become a caregiver to her mother-in-law. And, her decision to purchase Share the Care meant she had a group of friends and family members to with which to share the experience.

As Kimi speaks of the care given to her mother-in-law, Peggy, it's hard not to see how Peggy and Kimi balance a life scale. When Kimi accepted Eric's marriage proposed, Peggy received her diagnosis of ALS. When Kimi was pregnant with her first child, the family formed the Share the Care group, which became known as “Peg's Legs.” When Kimi gave her birth to daughter Indiana in 2003, Peggy went on a ventilator. Their losses and gains become intertwined.

Which is not to say that Peggy's losses have slowed her down. A well-known artist in Hawaii, Peggy continues to create. When she could no longer paint with her right hand, she used her left. When she could no longer use her left, she used her mouth. Now, she paints with the help of a computer. (You can view Peggy's artwork here.)

Peggy also organizes art projects with local schoolchildren called “Painting for Peggy.” Currently, Peggy and the schoolchildren are creating a watercolor mosiac honoring Father Damien, who cared and ministered to people with leprosy living on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. The artwork will be given to the Pope when Father Damien is canonized.

Kimi has two roles in Peggy life—caregiver and business manager. She oversees one full-time and two part-time employees at Peggy's art studio as well as a group of paid and volunteer caregivers who provide 24-hour care. “It's the most fulfulling and exhausting thing I've ever done,” Kimi says. “I count my blessings. I've found my passion. I love running the business and the care group. The experience has instilled great values in our family.”

She adds, “Peggy brings the most amazing angels to her bedside every day. I do not consider myself Peggy's primary caregiver. That's the thing about Peg's Legs. With this wonderful group, we are all primary caregivers. We share the load and that makes life fuller for all of us.”

The fact that this is a familiar disease does weigh a bit on Kimi's mind. “Thinking of going through this again is exhausting,” she says. “This is a hard disease and takes a mental toll. It's a roller coaster ride, but I want to ride that ride with Peggy.”

Part of riding the ride means helping Peggy put the pieces together of her life's puzzle. Last year, Peggy found a daughter she had given up for adoption. Her daughter came to Hawaii to meet Peggy, but feared that she would not be able to connect with Peggy, who communicates solely through her eyes. But, she did.

“You learn that the verbal communication is so minor,” Kimi says. “It's how you connect spiritually and emotionally.”

For Kimi, family, caregiving and business blend in and out of her day. She juggles the needs of two small children (son Sawer is 18-months-old), manages a business, and oversees Peggy's care needs. “I have the best of both worlds,” Kimi says. “I get to work and have my kids with me.” Kimi recently began a blog, which reflects that blend. Recent posts show photos of Peggy attending various events, as well as share Kim's speculations into the meaning of the TV show, Lost. You can read Kimi's blog here.

Could two decisions open up one woman's life? Or, was it simply the two hands of fate?--Denise M. Brown

Meet Our Winners:

• Leon Beer, nominated Sharon Lebenkoff of Leeza's Place at Park Slope Geriatric Day Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
• MoZetta Zion, nominated by her self
• Patty Kearns, nominated by Nancy Lewin of Johnson & Johnson Caregiver Initiative
• Norma Bell, nominated by Sharon Pease, Norma's daughter
• Kimi Morton Chun, nominated by Sheila Warnock of ShareTheCaregiving, Inc.
• Aracelis Fernandez, nominated by Diana King of PSS Caregivers Support Program, Bronx, N.Y.

And, meet winners from previous years:

(Unforeseen difficulties caused us to put the contest on hold in 2005 and 2006.)

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