In 2015, the life of Heather Ace and all of those close to her changed. Heather’s niece was diagnosed with brain cancer. It is a life-altering moment: one where the world stands still and all a family wants is healing for their child, their brother, their mother, their niece … but while families are faced with this turmoil, the world still turns, and bills still need to be paid. While families wish the world would stop, wait, and worry with them, it just does not happen.
Heather’s niece went to the world-renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for treatment. Their exceptional experience there changed the trajectory of Heather’s life, along with her personal mission. While at St. Jude, Heather and her family received an abundance of support. They didn’t feel alone, their needs were met and their questions were answered.
“When I saw what St. Jude and the Ronald McDonald House could do for families during this terribly difficult time, I was amazed,” says Heather. “And I then realized there weren’t a lot of resources like this in the North Carolina and South Carolina areas to support families going through this challenging period. I did a lot of fundraisers to help my family; when a child is diagnosed with cancer, a family ends up financially distressed because the parents are taking care of and focusing on their children and are unable to work.”
This financial burden makes an already unimaginable situation that much worse. “We felt on an island by ourselves,” says Heather. “So, I said, ‘How can we change that and bring some of what St. Jude does to the North and South Carolina areas?’” That’s when A Healing Grace was formed.
The 501(c)3 organization’s goal is to provide the support and resources families need, as Heather believes the most valuable advice comes from those who have been down the difficult road of having a child or young family member battling cancer.
The support A Healing Grace provides varies depending on the specific needs of each family. It is not just about health care costs. Some may need their rent or mortgage paid; others may need gas money or groceries. The organization will arrange fundraisers, whether through social media or elsewhere, to raise money for the family’s needs. In other cases, they will link the families to other organizations that can support them, perhaps to fulfill travel, hotel, or other needs. The aim is not to duplicate efforts but instead ensure all basic needs are covered. “We want to take some of the stress off these families so that they can focus on the health of their child,” says Heather. “I have found that staying out of the family’s business is the best thing possible. They have enough going on. They just need someone to help take care of their needs so that they can focus on their family.”
And that’s exactly what A Healing Grace did for Angela Castine when her daughter Piper was diagnosed with kidney cancer this past year. Within a few days of Piper’s diagnosis, the organization reached out to the family to see how they could provide support and to share contact information of people and organizations that could help them.
“I quit working when Piper got sick so that I could spend every moment with her,” says Angela. “A Healing Grace helped us with everything. They connected us with other families who had been through what we were going through. When this happens to your child, you truly feel like your life gets put on pause and everyone else just keeps going. It’s so helpful to connect with families who know what you are going through.”
While any day is difficult when facing cancer, the holidays are particularly hard. A Healing Grace works to ensure that children battling cancer, and their siblings, have an amazing Christmas holiday. They typically help 15 to 20 families over the season, often with two to five children among them. They place angel trees throughout the community, where the child’s diagnosis and gift requests are shared. During this past Christmas, they first met the Castine family. “We didn’t have to worry about Christmas at all,” says Angela. “Our house was full of gifts. Every single thing on the list was given to us and then some!”
In addition to making Christmas bright, A Healing Grace also provides a Birthday Buddy program in which they deliver cupcakes to each child, with all the accoutrements — icing, sprinkles, stickers, cards, and noisemakers — allowing the children and their families to decorate their sweet treats themselves. This recognition enables the children to feel some sense of normalcy, while celebrating their special day.
“From my experience as a grandmother, A Healing Grace just cares,” says Frankie Castine, Piper’s grandmother. “This is a great organization, and they are very diligent in their work with childhood cancer.”
It’s the donors who truly make an impact. Heather continues to be amazed at the generosity of her donors, coming through to deliver support to so many families in a myriad of ways. Heather finds that people are especially willing to give when they know about a specific family’s needs, enabling a stronger connection to those they are helping. As an example, Heather recently learned of a family’s need, created a link about the family on the organization’s website, posted it on Facebook, and raised $3,500 in just two days (all of which is tax deductible). “I was fundraising and had broken my foot so I was worried about how I was going to raise money for this family, but God always finds a way,” says Heather.
Heather bases much of her guidance on the Holy Spirit. Families fill out applications on the website outlining their specific needs, but from time to time, Heather will feel the need to contact the families directly. “I listen to the Holy Spirit,” says Heather. “Sometimes God is nudging me, and I’ll reach out to a family. I have found that is typically when they are in need of something. I always listen to that voice.”
The support of A Healing Grace doesn’t end when the children no longer have evidence of the disease. While that is an incredible moment when treatment is over, the needs continue. Heather says, “So much continues to go on with the child’s health, and we don’t want these families to feel alone. I have become friends with these families. My heart breaks for these families. Something about the cancer world creates a family. And once you are a part of it, you will always be a part of it. Those relationships don’t ever end.”
The families attached to A Healing Grace feel that same bond. Just this past summer, a young couple learned that their 18-month-old daughter had terminal cancer. The couple wanted a puppy for their daughter and was having the hardest time finding one. The team at A Healing Grace made it their mission to find a puppy for this child. They were able to locate a breeder with puppies that would be available for adoption that week. Heather and team were going to buy the puppy from the breeder for $600 — but the breeder instead donated that money to the family. Volunteers drove three hours to get the puppy and six hours to take it to the family. The woman who delivered the puppy to the family was also the mother of a child who had had cancer and now, thankfully, has no evidence of the disease. She wanted to support A Healing Grace in their efforts to help another family, as the organization had once done for her.
When the puppy arrived at the home, the little girl was sitting on a bed on the porch. The puppy climbed into the bed and never moved, never leaving the precious child’s side. The little girl passed away the next day. “We were so grateful we were able to do that for this family,” says Heather. “They now have their little girl’s puppy, and I believe it is helping the family heal as best they can.”
These acts of kindness are ones that never will be forgotten — all being done for no other reason than to help other people. “It’s important for us to give back what was given to us,” says Heather, “and to always obey the nudge that God is giving us.” For it’s that small nudge that may make the biggest difference in the lives of others.
For those looking to learn more or support A Healing Grace, visit AHealingGrace.org or A Healing Grace on Facebook. This year due to the pandemic, their angel trees will be more limited, thus A Healing Grace will be resorting to online angel trees. You can still give through their website if you would like to help with Christmas this year.