Some people have to go see a movie or read a comic book to witness a superhero. All I have to do is drive up to Charleston, SC, and visit my Nana Rose, something I admit I don’t do nearly enough. We visited her in late December just a few weeks after her 96th birthday.
Nana lost nearly her entire family in the Holocaust about three quarters of a century ago just because they are Jewish. She lost Carl, her husband of 45 years and the father of her three daughters, to cancer nearly three decades ago. Here’s their story (my mom is Eva): http://columbiaholocausteducation.org/pdf/SurvivedWeDid.pdf
When they entered the country nearly 70 years ago, my grandparents both worked several jobs. Nana fought through poverty, a language barrier, countless surgeries and the loss of the love of her life and here she is now, nearly a centenarian.
She often tells me stories of the Holocaust but I’m listening a lot more now because I know sadly we won’t be able to have these conversations much longer and her stories remind us of how we must continue to fight against anti-Semitism.
My grandmother went from nearly being killed during the war to being the mother of three children, the grandmother of seven grandchildren, and the great-grandmother of seven great-grandchildren. I personally don’t always want to be a fighter but I feel obligated because Nana Rose is the epitome of such a warrior.
Nana taught me that miracles only come through hard work and I try to instill that strategy in the way I fight cystic fibrosis. It was my Nana who told my mom that despite the loss of her first child to cystic fibrosis and my diagnosis with the same disease, I would be the miracle my family needed. I feel the pressure of the biggest miracle in our family declaring I would carry on that unusual family tradition.
She is my fellow warrior, my sweet grandmother, and the ultimate superhero—better than any you’d find in a comic book.
Love you Nana.
Andy