Giving Grace
Story 80

When Liz King decided to stop treatment for her cancer, for the next six months, her family focused on her bucket list. Sailing trips. Whale-watching in Monterey. A getaway to Napa Valley. A hot air balloon ride.

“My mom loved the ocean,” says her daughter, Sarah Sharp, who remembers those last six months as the best ones in her mom’s nine-year battle with breast cancer.

Many of those cherished memories were made possible by support from family, friends, and sometimes, strangers. Sarah has a term for what her family received during that time: She calls it grace.

For Sarah, Liz was as much a best friend to her as a mom. For years, they worked around the corner from each other at the same hospital, Sarah in the pharmacy and Liz as a nurse on the cardiovascular unit. And when they were together outside of the hospital, the topic of conversation was usually work. “She was such a good resource to me for my career,” Sarah recalls. “Probably the thing we loved to do the most was go out to breakfast. Since I worked four tens and she worked three twelves, we would go out to breakfast at the Waffle Barn on our days off. That was our thing.”

Liz was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. After a year of treatment, things looked pretty good.  “During the next five years we kind of went back to life as normal,” Sarah says. But right after the five-year mark of being cancer-free, Liz came down with  pneumonia. This triggered the discovery of cancer throughout her lungs and bones.

“Those [following] years were full of tests and more bad news than good news,” Sarah remembers. “Mom did chemo that entire four years. She wouldn’t quit fighting. Right before she passed, she said, ‘I want everyone to know I never stopped fighting.’”

Sarah says the support they received throughout her mom’s cancer battle was overwhelming. Countless people helped with a meal train. Colleagues threw Liz a Steelers-themed party at work. Friends sponsored a trip to Maui – complete with helicopter ride.

“Grace is what everyone gave us during that time. Grace is mercy, something that I don’t deserve,” Sarah says. “Not everyone receives the help we did.”

Liz (far upper right) and her coworkers.

Two years following their mom’s death, Sarah and her sisters decided to organize an effort to make the same kind of support available to others losing loved ones to cancer. “We wanted to give that grace back to the community,” Sarah says.

They founded Giving Grace, which has helped dozens of families with funeral expenses, grief counseling, household bills, and more. And it’s not just for people losing loved ones to cancer. The growing organization receives referrals from entities like hospice, funeral homes and the local trauma intervention program. “I want people to know that when they lose a loved one that they can come to us for help,” Sarah says.

Sarah envisions a long and promising future for the organization.

“Honestly, I can’t even believe how much support we have received,” she says. “We hope to build an ambassadorship of volunteers to help us with fundraising activities. We would really like to host an in-person fundraiser this year if the pandemic allows. And, of course, we always want to continue to spread awareness about our cause and help more and more families each year.”

Giving Grace, which is now run by several family members, came from a place of both sincere appreciation for what they had received and a deep desire to provide something similar to others.

“This work brings me peace,” Sarah shares. “It makes me feel good to know I was there for someone, and I was able to give back what was given to me.”

Sarah Sharp is Performance Improvement Specialist at Adventist Health and Rideout. Her mom, Liz King, served there for nearly 20 years.