Who is the bravest person you have ever known?

Not a celebrity or public figure but someone you know or have know in your real life.

For me, I think it would be my uncle. Though he died about five years ago … he was very young when he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s and it slowly and insidiously robbed him, inch by inch, of pretty much everything. It started with fine motor control and robbed him of his ability to play the cello; he was a very accomplished cellist, and there weren’t too many things that mattered more to him; it took away his ability to drive, to play with his children, to make love to his wife, to support his family, to move about the world independently; robbed him of his ability to speak, to walk, to eat. I’m not saying he absolutely never complained or was never angry or never felt sorry for himself; he wasn’t a saint, but he fought that damn disease for thirty years with more dignity, grace and good humor than I think I might have been able to manage. It was an honor to know him.