my grandmother

I can still vividly see myself holding an inner tube around my waist and running after my grandmother. She lived in an adult community in Florida and when I visited her we were always racing to catch the bus to her aquatic exercise class, or driving to dance class, or walking through the mall shopping. My grandmother was full of fun, life and love. She is the one person who had an extraordinary impact on my career choice. She was a person with strength, who spoke her mind and gave my family guidance and steady support.
Then in the spring of 1995 life for our family was altered. Slowly we became conscious of a transformation, as the person we loved deeply, seemed to be becoming someone else. My grandmother was diagnosed with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. ...