Celebrating the steady rock who holds our family together

I love my caregiver! I really love my caregiver! My caregiver is my amazing, long-suffering husband, Daryl.

I met Daryl via a support group when we were both experiencing the dissolution of our former marriages, essentially making us each other’s support system from the beginning. Neither of us expected the extent of support and caregiving that were on the horizon, however.

I had not been diagnosed with any chronic illness when we first met, nor by the time we married in 2000. Little did we know that blending our family of seven children, or even adopting our eighth, was going to be the least challenging part of our future together.

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How did we manage?

Natalie Sirota’s husband, Daryl, had his caricature drawn at the HAEa Summit 2025. (Courtesy of Natalie Sirota)

I had two major surgeries after our first year. Four years later, we traveled to Ukraine to adopt Leah, our child. Then I acquired Lyme disease, which became a two-year ordeal of being bedridden during my treatment and recovery. Diagnoses of chronic Lyme and arthritis soon followed.

I hardly remember those years and am not sure how we managed juggling all the kids, household, and family demands with Daryl working full time, commuting, and me incapacitated.

Leah’s chronic health issues began in 2015. At the time, we’d just returned from a year abroad, with Daryl working online and me handling the schooling. It took years before we found a doctor who diagnosed and treated her. She also endured several surgeries, and some of the most terrifying experiences were emergency visits when she could hardly breathe or swallow due to esophageal attacks with hereditary angioedema.

Through it all we became an emotional and physical support team, each playing to our strengths. Daryl’s job covered the insurance, and I dealt with the paperwork and phone calls. I kept track of the prescriptions and prepared the dosing, while he administered the intravenous and injectable medications. I scheduled the appointments and he provided the transportation. We also worked together, each keeping up with Leah’s education.

Our rock, our provider, our mensch

The same year Leah became ill, I had another surgery and was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which was followed over the years by diagnoses of mast cell activation syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, long COVID, neurofibroma, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease, hereditary angioedema, polyneuropathy, and osteoporosis.

Daryl has been there for everything, providing both moral and financial support, never complaining, and always doing everything to make sure we have whatever we need.

Now that my health is declining even more, and Leah is an adult managing her own healthcare, we are beginning to switch roles somewhat. But Daryl remains our constant, steadfast rock.

I do have to admit, though, that, along with his corny puns and dad jokes, his incredibly good health and well-being can sometimes be annoying. During our 25 years together, I can count on one hand the number of times he has been ill, just with a cold, which, in his experience, means feeling “under the weather” for about 24 hours. By the time he was diagnosed with COVID-19, I was on my fourth or fifth bout. Seriously!

Daryl also makes time to serve our community. He has worked for years with those experiencing homelessness and makes sure to give a kind word, meal, and resource to anyone in need. The Yiddish word for such a person is “mensch.”

We are beyond blessed to have such an amazing man in our lives! He is a stoic, steady, patient partner, and I don’t know how he does it all. I know we would be in a very different place without him. We can probably never say or show enough how much we love him.

Daryl, this one is for you. And to all the caregivers who go above and beyond the call of duty, you are the best!

Note: Angioedema News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Angioedema News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to angioedema.