Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

For Oxford resident Suzanne Dahlerup, those heroes took the form of fellow Oxford residents Cindy Hoffman and her 12-year-old daughter, Olivia Hoffman.

On Jan. 10, around 6 p.m., Dahlerup left her home to walk her dog, a Weimaraner named Ranger, around the block.

As Dahlerup traveled her usual route on Pontiac Rd., she slipped and fell on black ice. She instantly felt something snap in her leg and experienced a sharp pain.

Unable to get up, Dahlerup began to call out into the darkness, hoping someone would hear her pleas.

“Of course, it was the one time I’d ever left without my cell phone,” Dahlerup recalled.

She spent 15 minutes calling for help, which seemed like an eternity as she laid there in agony. Then, finally, help arrived for Dahlerup.

Cindy and Olivia were leaving the Oxford Public Library when they heard Dahlerup’s cries.

“It was dark, cold, and there was freezing rain that night … I started running towards her voice. I just couldn’t believe the amount of pain she must have been in when I finally got to her,” Hoffman recalled.

When she found Dahlerup, she instantly lept into action.

Cindy called Dahlerup’s husband, Hans Dahlerup, and 9-1-1, all the while never leaving her side. Cindy supplied her with blankets from her vehicle.

“I’m so thankful for Cindy and her daughter,” Dahlerup said.

“She stayed with me to make sure that I had blankets and she’s been in touch with me (ever since) to make sure I was okay. I really want to acknowledge the kindness and compassion that she has given. If it weren’t for them, I think I would have gone into shock shortly afterward.”

As for Ranger, Dahlerup added he stayed put throughout the entire ordeal.

“He never left my side or ran away when I was laying there. He didn’t go for help,” said Dahlerup with a laugh. “I wish he would have run home like Lassie, but he stayed right by my side and didn’t leave.”

When ambulances finally arrived, Dahlerup was transported to McLaren Oakland hopsital in Pontiac, where doctors discovered she had fractured both her tibia and fibula.

She received surgery the next day and was released four days later.

Since her injury, Dahlerup has been recovering at home. Though she will be unable to walk on her injured leg for 8-10 weeks, she is expected to make a full recovery.

“I’m hanging in there. I’m just taking things day-by-day,” Dahlerup said. “It’s been really hard because I’m a pretty active mom of three, working full-time and doing everything in the house and when your life stops like that, it really makes you think about things.”