altyfcJoined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 2097Location: Aardvarkland
Fri Aug 26, 2005 7:45 pm Reply with quote
Every once in a while, a co-worker or donor is startled to discover that sisters Jean LeBoeuf and Debbie Borel are two different people.
It’s easy to see why, even though the sisters are not twins and share only some physical traits. Energetic and talkative, the women are obviously cut from the same cloth, boasting the same “obsessive-compulsive” work habits they say have made it not merely bearable but a joy for them to work side-by-side for the past 20 years.
LeBoeuf and Borel have worked at Terrebonne General Medical Center’s Blood Center since 1986, at times splitting the same full-time position.
The sisters grew up in Bourg, graduated from South Terrebonne High School and now live in Houma. Both registered nurses and phlebotomists, the two have together donated 117 pints of blood, and would have donated more if Borel’s weight had not dropped below the minimum allowed at times.
“Debbie and I work really well together,” LeBoeuf said.
Because of their compulsion with organization, and possibly the patterns that come from working together so long, LeBoeuf said she could leave in the middle of a donation and know her sister could finish the job like clockwork. The sisters also pick up after one another.
“I don’t think we look that much alike,” said LeBoeuf, who at 61 is the eldest by nine years. But people get the sisters confused.
“They think we’re the same person.” When Borel’s hair was longer than LeBoeuf’s, one hospital worker thought LeBoeuf wore a wig on certain days.
Their occupation has also been the subject of some confusion. LeBoeuf remembers someone coming into the center asking for “the sisters.” They were surprised to find LeBoeuf and Borel instead of two nuns, she said.
It’s actually not too far off. LeBoeuf began working at the hospital in December 1964 when nuns still lived at and ran the hospital, and “Mother Blanche” served as the hospital’s administrator.
“Where we draw blood is where the nun’s dining room was,” LeBoeuf said. “Things have changed so much.”
When LeBoeuf, a registered nurse, started work at Terrebonne General, she served in the female medical and surgery department. She moved to Virginia, but returned to Terrebonne General in 1970 when the blood bank’s leader asked for her help in getting the Blood Center accredited.
After more than three years at the blood bank, and reaching accreditation, LeBoeuf left when she became pregnant.
In 1986, LeBoeuf’s blood bank career really began when the center’s leader, Joe Malbrough, again asked for her help because of the overwhelming demand for blood, thanks to the hospital’s entry into heart surgery. But LeBoeuf did not want to work full time, so she and Borel decided to split the position, working opposite days.
By this time, Borel had held spots supervising the emergency room at both Terrebonne General and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center, then known as South Louisiana Medical Center.
The younger sister, a candy striper and paramedics club member in high school, had worked for Terrebonne General as an aide during nursing school. However, Borel noticed her propensity for needles while working with the crash cart team in the emergency room. When the team went to work, Borel started the IV.
“I liked veins and sticking needles, and I was good at it,” she said.
Then she got the call from Malbrough and, the mother of two small children decided to return to Terrebonne General part time. For nine years, the sisters shared the same position.
Then, 11 years ago, Borel started working full time, while LeBoeuf remained part time.
The Blood Center takes about 30 donations a day, and has a strong contingent of regulars, they said. Three people have given 150 pints, 62 have given 100 pints, and 445 have given 50 pints.
“We’re really good stickers,” LeBoeuf said, flaunting the abilities of she, her sister and another worker to make donations as painless as possible.
“I can talk anybody through this,” she said. “And you won’t pass out, I’m telling you.”
Besides, “She’s my little sister, I would beat her up,” laughs LeBoeuf, who at age 61 is the eldest by nine years.
“If you can’t get along with your sister, who can you get along with?” Borel asked. The pair also shares a unique hobby: checking out veins.
“You notice everybody’s veins,” Borel said. “It’s an occupational hazard.”
During a flight, a man sat next to Borel and another worker and laid his arms on the armrest. The women gasped, “Would you look at his veins?” The man said it was the strangest pickup line he had ever heard, Borel said.
Borel and LeBoeuf said most of their family donates blood — except two other sisters, who are squeamish.
Aaron
