From the time they were kids, Veronica Smalheiser and her sister, Crystal, have been best friends. Just 13 months apart, the siblings are so close that when Smalheiser and her husband, cardiologist Stuart Smalheiser, MD, left her hometown of Jacksonville to work at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, her younger sister soon followed.
“I was feeling lonely and convinced her to move to Beaufort to get her nursing degree at USCB,” says Smalheiser, a board-certified nurse practitioner at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group and Beaufort Memorial Botox Clinic.
Crystal has helped her sister with more than just the occasional bout of homesickness. She took care of Smalheiser’s young son.
“She came to my house every morning to stay with Sidney and worked as a nurse in the cath lab as needed,” Smalheiser says. “It’s been great.”
Crystal even accompanied Smalheiser to Augusta to babysit Sidney while she attended a cardiology conference.
While they may be as tight as twins, the two sisters are not above a little friendly Fitbit competition. For months, they tried to outdo each other in a race to rack up the most steps on the activity tracker.
“My average was about 8,000 steps a day,” Smalheiser said. “If I went on a short walk, I would take the baby in a backpack carrier. For longer distances, I’d push him in the stroller.”
Most days, they walked with Stuart, who also works at Lowcountry Medical Group.
“We’re so happy to have him,” Smalheiser said of their firstborn. “He’s everything to us, plus some.”
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