Putting others first

Kristie Neumann plays Chinese checkers with her grandmother, Lois Foster, in their South Anchorage home. Kristie put off her education plans to be the caretaker for her grandmother, who is recovering from seizures.

Kristie Neumann has never known a time when her grandmother wasn't near.

Lois Foster, 79, has lived with Kristie's family since before Kristie was born. She moved in when her husband died in 1976 and stayed through Kristie's parents' divorce when she was 3. Later, when Kristie began home-schooling, Foster became her teacher.

A retired uranium miner, Grandmom has always been a spirited woman generous with her stories and jokes. "She's helped me teach the kids values," says her daughter, Sally Neumann. "She's been a good person, and it's pretty much worn off."

Foster has been there for every crisis and every joy, says Kristie, who is clearly one of her grandmother's biggest fans. "She's got the best personality and the best sense of humor of anyone I know."

When a massive seizure struck Foster down last February, Kristie, then 17, put college plans on hold and stayed home to care for her. Once active, Foster could no longer cook, clean or sew. Her family worried she might fall on the household stairs. And her good humor evaporated.

"She was very quiet, very docile, really, no will," says Kristie. "It was scary there for a long time."

While her mother worked, Kristie supervised her grandmother, bathed her and made her meals.

Her daughter's decision to put off school plans was a bittersweet relief for Neumann, a bank supervisor who'd wondered how she was going to work and care for her mother with Kristie at school.

"I was really grateful," Neumann says. "Most young people don't want to have anything to do with the older generation."

On the other hand, she worried about her daughter putting off plans, which include pursuing a career in broadcast journalism.

"She's gone beyond the call of duty," Neumann says.

Good news for the family: Though another seizure landed Foster in the hospital last month, as of early this month she was improving -- miraculously regaining her mobility and sense of humor.

And what does Foster think of her granddaughter? "She's special," Foster says. "I love the little thing."

With Foster on the mend and due to receive help from Medicaid that should help pay for equipment like a stair lift and daytime care, Kristie is looking forward to starting classes at the University of Alaska Anchorage in January. Kristie is applying for grants and working out transportation -- the family has only one vehicle -- but she has a positive attitude.

If she graduates, Kristie will be the first in the family to finish college.

Kristie's love for her grandmother and the many needs of her household inspired care coordinator Lynne Donchez to nominate her and her family for the Book of Dreams. To help reduce their work, the family could use a new dishwasher. And Kristie, Donchez says, deserves to have some of her schooling paid for as a reward for her selfless help.

"The need is so high and they're doing a service to the community," Donchez says. "They could've easily put (Foster) in a home, which would cost taxpayers, but they kept her at home."

Kristie Neumann

M-1 12 credit hours at UAA, $924

M-2 New dishwasher, $500