TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A woman who spent her life giving back to people in need now has a need of her own – a heart transplant.
Alexiss Grimes serves the community through her nonprofit, Continued Bessie’s Blessings, which is named after her late grandmother, Bessie.
Every year on the day after Christmas, Grimes spends countless hours cooking large pans of food to take to the Kearney Center so that people can have a free, hot meal. She also collects hygiene products and clothes to give to people in need.
“I met Alexiss in 2012, and we just, kind of, clicked,” Sonia White said. She and Grimes have been best friends for years. “She’s a giving person. She’s a loving person, and she just welcomes you in,” White said.
In 2025, their friendship took a turn, as Grimes was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure.
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“The doctor told her she’s got to get on the transplant list, because eventually, her heart is going to fail,” White said. “I cried, cried, cried.”
White said Grimes was recently denied Medicaid, so she’s raising as much money as possible to help pay for her upcoming heart surgery in April. That procedure is meant to help keep Grimes alive until she’s able to receive a heart transplant, which could be anywhere from months to years away.
She also said the gas getting back and forth to Gainesville has been a strain on Grimes and her family. For those interested in helping contribute to her medical costs, click here.
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