Will We See You at Race with Grace?
For the past few years, Pfister Orthodontics has been the Water Table Sponsor for Race with Grace, an event that is near-and-dear to the hearts of Dr. Pfister and his team.
Will we see you at Race with Grace on Sunday, September 15th?
It’s no secret to those that know me that this is a very special event to me…
One, because I got to know the beautiful person who inspired the race (Mary Grace), as well as her husband, Mike, and their three children.
And two, because cancer has affected many of those around me. (I even had a bout with cancer myself.)
So before I get into the details of this year’s race, I’d like to give you a bit of backstory that I originally published in a 2021 blog post entitled, A life Well-Lived and Well-Remembered.
Excerpt from “A Life Well-Lived and Well-Remembered,” Originally Published September 17, 2021:
Those of my readers who have never driven to Cleveland in February at 6 AM have really missed an interesting sight in a steel town…
I’m referring to sunrise over the steel mills on the East side of 71 as you approach the city. The smoke and flames rising off the stacks… against the stratified tapestry of red and orange as the morning sun peers over the Eastern horizon… is quite a spectacle for early morning eyes!
It was such a beautiful sight, that I chose to partake in all its splendor for eight weeks straight, a total of 40 grand sunrises.
Some of you readers might think, “Yep, Doc Pfister has gone off the deep end.” But in this week’s blog, I decided to be transparent and let you in on a little secret…
The idea for me to witness all of these magnificent sunrises was not my idea, but my oncologist’s! Yes, I had a bout with prostate cancer 7 years ago. Interestingly, three of my dental colleagues and my cousin all were diagnosed with prostate cancer in a six-month period.
Yes, cancer is that damn prevalent. We were the lucky ones - some uncomfortable radiation and chemo - but we lived. Mary Grace was not so fortunate with her breast cancer.
I had the pleasure of working with Mary and Mike Grace, as my staff and I helped their children create their new smiles.
They were a great family to work with. You could just feel their love and warmth that they had for each other and their children. Fitting in multiple orthodontic appointments monthly, along with all the other activities that young people are into, is definitely a daunting task. When Mike or Mary would bring the kids in, I always came away invigorated because just conversing with them was always a positive experience.
As caring individuals, one always felt that it was a blessing having the Graces as friends. You knew you could always count on them. People this loving, kind, and giving… we always think, or at least hope, that they will live forever or at least to a ripe old age. But it was not to be. Mary Grace, a wife and mother of three, passed away on January 8, 2005, after a 2-year battle with breast cancer.
Mike could have shut out the world and taken the kids out-of-state to avoid the memories that every corner in Medina would produce that reminded him of Mary. It was almost a déjà vu of Ryan O’Neal in the 1970 movie, Love Story. But that is not who Mike is and that would not be the tribute that Mike knew he had to create to memorialize Mary and continue her commitment to serving the community that she so dearly loved.
Just a few months after Mary’s passing, Mike created the Mary Grace Memorial Foundation in order to help residents of Medina County who were having financial difficulties while going through with cancer treatments.
Wow, how creative could a spouse be toward their fallen soulmate? This kind and heartwarming creation of a foundation that would carry Mary’s name and spread her love and support to others struggling through the emotional and financial hell of cancer therapy… mere words cannot do justice to such love…
Back to Present — Love, that’s what this event is all about.
When you’re there, it’s in the air.
It’s a love for our neighbors who are battling cancer. It’s a love for those who have gone before us… and a love for those who are fighting for their lives.
If you want to see what Race with Grace is all about, be sure to sign up today, as I hear this is going to be the most well-attended race in Race with Grace history. (And how appropriate to be so well-attended in its 20th anniversary of serving Medina County!)
So sign up today… and then come visit us at the Hydration Station on Sunday, September 15, 2024, bright and early at Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital, where my team and myself will be handing out waters as this year’s Water Table Sponsor.
In the meantime, reflect on the legacy of Mary Grace — a person whose life was well-lived and who, to this day, is well-remembered — as it’s in her memory that so many people gather and support others who battle this terrible thing called cancer.
Sometimes, when something horrible happens, something good comes out the other side.
I think the many families that have benefited from Race with Grace would feel the same.
Happy racing,
Dr. Pfister