Monica Grote Memorial Fund

Monica was a 42-year-old woman who began having headaches in 2018.  Living in Las Vegas, NV at the time, Monica sought medical attention and was told that she had Chiari Malformation.  She was advised that surgery for the Chiari would not be required at that time, but that they would continue to monitor.  At one point in 2018, her doctor suggested surgery to have the vertebrae in her neck fused in hopes of alleviating her head pain.  Over the next few years, the headaches became debilitating, and she began to have other health issues related to the Chiari Malformation.  In 2021, now living in Charleston, SC, she sought medical treatment again.  This time she was advised to have surgery to correct the malformation.  On November 2, 2021, she entered the hospital for surgery.  They procedure was to take approximately 3 hours and she was told that she would spend 3-5 days in the hospital following the surgery.  Two days post-op, Monica began suffering from headaches again.  This led to 9 subsequent surgeries and 77 straight days in the hospital – almost all of them in ICU.  On January 17, 2022, Monica passed away due to complications from the surgery.  

Monica was a single mother of an 11-year-old son, Ben.  He was the love of her life.  Everything she did was for her son.  Throughout her battle with Chiari, she powered through the days of sickness so that she did not miss even the smallest event with Ben.  She was so proud that he is in the gifted program at school, plays sports and is working toward being an Eagle Scout.  On weekends, you could find Monica and Ben on the soccer field, attending sporting events, participating in fundraisers, hanging out with friends, on the beach, at amusement parks, neighborhood golf cart parades or on a road trip.  Everything she did was for Ben – always putting him first! Her kindness and sense of humor definitely show through in Ben.  He is the sweetest, most caring boy who loves to laugh and whose smile can light up a room.    

Monica understood the importance of family and wanted to ensure that she had a great support system in place for Ben, so she opened her home to her mother who moved in with them about 9 years ago. Ben loves his grandma, Sharon, and thinks of her as a second mother.  Throughout Monica’s 77 days at the hospital, Sharon would drop Ben off for school in the morning, drive the 45 minutes to the hospital to visit, drive back to pick up Ben from school, make him dinner, help with homework and answer his questions regarding his mother’s health.  Ben was able to visit his mother a few times during her hospital stay.  Three of those days were Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.  Of course, there was the final day where he had to say goodbye to his mother.  No child, especially an 11-year-old, should have to endure this type of heartache and loss.  

Just as she loved her own family and friends, Monica loved her family of veterans.  Having multiple master’s Degrees, Monica was a VIST (Visually Impaired Services Team) Coordinator for the Veterans Administration, where she started her career in 2009.  She was an advocate for the visually impaired veterans across the continuum of care.  

Monica’s devotion to helping people was always evident, even at the time of her passing.  As the ultimate act of humanity, Monica was an organ donor through Sharing Hope.

Monica wanted nothing more than to take care of her son and provide the best life possible for him.  Please consider helping this family.  Thank you.