#RallyKid Grace's Fundraiser

Grace was a fit and healthy child. At 11, she started senior school in the UK, but just six months later, shortly after turning 12, she developed strange symptoms—buzzing in her left hand, hearing loss in her left ear, and vision issues in her left eye. The doctor initially said it was hormonal or silent migraines. Over the following weeks, the symptoms worsened. One night, she felt like she was being electrocuted in her hand. We called an ambulance, but they refused to come, citing her notes. The neurological episodes continued. A week later, after church, she was so ill we called again. Thankfully, the crew came. After two hours of trying to stabilize her, Grace had a massive seizure and stopped breathing. That was the beginning of our cancer journey. For six weeks, Grace endured seizures, hallucinations, and misdiagnoses. I kept insisting it was a brain tumor, but no one listened. Eventually, she was discharged and told to return to school. I refused. I watched her closely, then emailed neurologists until one responded and brought her in for testing. She was put on 24-hour EEG monitoring and was found to be in status epilepticus. The next day, the neurologist asked what I thought was wrong. I said a brain tumor. He confirmed it. A biopsy diagnosed Grace with an anaplastic astrocytoma and a prognosis of 18 months. A week before Grace passed, I told her she didn’t have to fight anymore. She signed “thank you,” “OK,” and “happy.” She spent the final days at peace, preparing to meet God. Her Catholic faith was central to her life, and she wasn’t afraid—she just wanted to be awake and present. She declined morphine, wasn’t in pain, and was calm. On the morning of November 2nd, 2020, at 7:02 am, Grace passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and love. In her last three breaths, she made three distinct sounds—I know she was saying “I love you.” We used to sing “A Thousand Years” together. I always told her, “I’ve loved you for a thousand years, I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Our Amazing Grace. Our Queen. Our Bubs. We now #KeepGoingForGrace 🦋

By making a donation, you are directly supporting childhood cancer research through the Rally Foundation.

Your donation will contribute to the ongoing efforts to develop better treatments with fewer long-term side effects, and ultimately, find cures for young patients like Wesley. Stand with us in this critical cause and help bring hope to children and families battling cancer.