Jeanne Alford

A hero can be anyone whether its a brother, mother, father, grandparent, or role model. The term hero is usually used to describe something who does something spectacular. My definition of a hero is someone who tries and doesn't give up.

My hero is my grandma on my dad's side of the family. She passed away in Nov. 2000. The funeral was held the day before Thanksgiving. She was diagnosed with Alzheimers about three years before her death.

It started out with her just forgetting where she was going in her car. Sometimes she would end up more than two hours away from home when she was only going to the supermarket. It then got worse with her having strokes about once a month. She even went into the hosital a few times, because they would be so severe. The combination of strokes and the disease made it even worse.

She then started to forget peoples' names that she saw everyday. I would go to her house everyday for lunch and she would start calling me different names or ask who I was. I wasn't allowed to eat any of the food she fixed, because no one knew how long the food had been sitting out.

If all this wasn't bad enough , she (at certain times) would forget who my grandpa was and would call him "That man." They had been married for 53 years. She would refuse to go anywhere with him, because she said that he was a stranger and that she wasn't going with no stranger. She would then tell me, usually, that he was trying to kill her when he really wouldn't hurt a fly.

Her condition got so bad that she could no longer get out of her bed or walk. My family would take turns during the week to watch her. Members cared to her and helped her move around. If they left her a second, she would start calling, "Please Help Me, Please Help Me." Many prayer groups came to pray for her.Finally, she had to be hospitalized. Everyone came to see her. She knew who I was, even with her eyes closed, by the sound of my voice. A few days before passing, she claime of seeing clothes that were to beautiful to wear and a perfect landscape.

My grandma is my hero, because even through all of this, she didn't give up, not even for a second.