NBC WXII12: 'I did what I felt was right': Former student cares for her ballet teacher with Alzheimer's disease

This article was originally posted on NBC WXII12

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Video from WPTV via CNN) —

Many of Carissa Kranz’s childhood memories are centered around the Palm Beach Ballet Center, specifically her teacher.

Miss Joan Miller opened the doors to her studio in 1958.

Kranz had her from when she started in third grade until she graduated from high school, WPTV reported. She recalls Miss Joan as loving but strict.

“She was tough; she was not mean,” Kranz said. “She was probably the kindest soul you’d ever meet. She would stop traffic for ducks to cross the street.”

Kranz told the TV station that the lessons of being persistent during dance carried into her adulthood and her career as a successful attorney.

But about a decade ago, she learned her beloved teacher was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her studio had been taken away from her and her home was in foreclosure.

Kranz has now been Miss Joan’s full-time caretaker for the past eight years.