May 22 2009
Natalie Cole Receives Kidney Transplant On Day Her Sister Dies
Natalie Cole was visiting her sister in the hospital when she received word that a kidney had become available for her. Just a few hours later, after Cole was recovering from the transplant surgery, her sister passed away.
Carol Cole, 64, is the older sister of Natalie. She worked as an actress, starring in several episodes her father’s program, “The Nat King Cole Show”, and in the Redd Foxx classic, “Sanford and Son”. She also starred in the spin-off from that series, “Grady”. In each, she starred as Grady’s daughter.
Natalie Cole has been receiving dialysis three times a week, a result of contracting Hepatitis C after years of drug abuse.
“This is all so surreal,” says Timolin Cole, Natalie’s younger sister. “Our sister Cookie hadn’t been to a doctor in 30 years, and last week she went in and they found a cancerous spot on her lung. They wanted to start chemo right away, but Cookie said no.”
