Race for Grace

Dear Family and Friends,

If you know Grace, you are no stranger to her generosity. Along with her family, she tirelessly gave of herself to take care of her elderly mother with Alzheimer's disease from 2013 to 2018. After her mother's passing, she fully intended to return to the workforce when a slight cough revealed a sign of something much more serious. This time, Grace needs our help.

On March 31, 2019, Grace was initially admitted to the hospital for possible bronchitis. She was discharged after ten days and shortly readmitted three days later for the same symptoms. A brain bleed was discovered in her cranium and she was transferred to another hospital to remove the brain lesion. After a successful operation, the lesion revealed Stage 4 Small Cell Lung Cancer that metastasized to the brain.

Resting after brain surgery, April 23, 2019

Initial treatment with a chemotherapy drug called Xalcori proved helpful. The tumor in the lung started shrinking and it appeared improvements were on the way.

However, by June, we noticed complications with fluid building frequently in Grace's lung. After multiple ER visits, she was hospitalized for the fifth time regarding the fluid buildup, but it wasn't until she was overrun with infection that we found out the chemotherapy drug was no longer working. Grace went into kidney failure and sepsis and was rushed to ICU where she nearly lost her life. Thanks to the multitude of prayers from family and friends and the resilience of the medical staff, Grace survived.

In ICU, August 2019


Grace started recovering on a new chemotherapy drug called Lorbrena. It practically reinflated her collapsed lung and has reduced the size of the tumor. We are grateful that Grace pulled through this experience. After another month in the hospital, Grace was finally able to go home. 

While Grace is improving in strength everyday, she has to build up her strength to do daily activities again such as standing, walking, and going up and down steps. She hasn't tried push ups yet, but she says she will! She is still unable to return to work (even though she desperately wants to!) so that is where we ask for your help. 

During the hospitalizations, the bills and needs for the children continued to collect. We are in danger of losing our home in the next month so that is what makes my ask so urgent. A contribution of any size would be greatly appreciated to help us offset these needs.

We also anticipate traveling to Massachusetts General Hospital this fall  or early spring regarding further treatment for Grace from the specialists who created the drug she is taking. Any overages would be applied to these travel arrangements and expenses.

Words are not enough to express how grateful we are for your assistance during this tough time for our family. We are humbled by your giving.

With warm regards,
Dave Alegre

Recovering in September 2019