Grant Heflebower lived his life through the care and love of his nurses. He suffered from blindness, cerebral palsy and seizures from the very day he was born. His intense situation required 24-hour care, but that didn't stop him from enjoying things like socializing and playing music.

"He had a great personality ... he was everyone's favorite," said John Heflebower, Grant's father.

For nine years, Grant lived at Calistoga House, a group home in Santa Rosa, where nurses helped with his medication and feeding. Grant had to be fed through a tube, every six hours, around the clock.

In October 2005, he suffered a seizure and died at age 17 after taking heavy medication that killed his pancreas.

To honor his son's life, Heflebower -- a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch in Napa and also a Napa Valley College board member -- started the Grant's Fund Scholarship. The scholarship is focused on helping disadvantaged nursing students get through college. It is designed to assist a single-parent student, Upward Bound student, or a special-needs study specialty student. The scholarship would cover tuition and books.

"Almost half the people at his funeral were nurses," said Heflebower. "When I saw that it touched me ... they did a real good job of taking care of my boy, this is my way of a little payback."

Currently, California and the United States in general are experiencing a shortage of nurses, and this is expected to continue. According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor, more than 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2012.

"(Nurses) are the every day heroes with live with, and they do noble work," Heflebower said.

To apply for, or donate to the scholarship, call the Napa Valley College Foundation at 253-3374.