Natalie Cole Loses Sister While Undergoing Life-Saving Surgery

While Natalie Cole was having a life saving kidney transplant surgery earlier this week, her older sister died, according to the New York Post.

Carole “Cookie” Cole’s cause of death was not reported, but Timolin Colin, Natalie’s younger sister, told the Post, Carole had a “cancerous spot.”

“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,” Timolin told Page Six. “They had wanted to start chemo right away, but Cookie said no.”

Natalie, who has hepatitis C and was undergoing kidney dialysis three times a week, was at her sister’s bedside when she got the news that a kidney was available.

“She said, ‘What do you mean? I can’t deal with that right now! I’m here with my dying sister!’ And they said to her, ‘No, ma’am. We’ve got to do it now. You’ve got to be at Cedars-Sinai in two hours,” Timolin noted.

Natalie had the surgery – a success — at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

She is expected to be released over the weekend.