Fifteen-year-old Grace Davis will never forget August 20, 2019. The FishHawk resident threw out the first pitch at the Rays game that day as part of a much anticipated wish granted for her by the Children’s Dream Fund.
Grace, who was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, mast cell disease, hereditary alpha tryptasemia and small fiber neuropathy three years ago, also attended the sold-out Queen concert in Tampa with her father and received tickets for her whole family to go to Disney World thanks to the fund.
“Grace’s diagnosis means that she has severe allergic reactions that threaten her life,” said her mother, Susan Davis. “The opportunity to create memories thanks to the Children’s Dream Fund is something that our whole family cherishes.”
The Children’s Dream Fund, which was founded in 1981 with the purpose of fulfilling dreams for children living in West Central Florida with life-threatening illnesses, has granted wishes for more than 3,000 children since its inception. The group worked with Rays player Kevin Kiermaier to make Grace’s wish to have a special evening with her father come true.
“Grace and her dad, Matt, both really love the band Queen, so it was the most incredible dream experience for them to be able to attend the concert together,” said Susan.
Matt, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, recently returned from his sixth year-long deployment.
The family, including Grace’s three brothers, Luke, Ryan and Isaiah, who was recently adopted after being fostered by the family, is looking forward to visiting Disney together when the weather cools off as the final aspect of Grace’s dream.
As part of her treatment plan, Grace receives infusions twice a week, but that does not stop her from keeping up with her school work. She takes classes through Florida Virtual School, has a GPA of 4.8 and is on track to graduate a year early with a Bright Futures Scholarship.
She is scheduled to begin a new treatment which will have her spend a week in the pediatric ICU at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg within the next month.
To learn more about the Children’s Dream Fund, visit www.childrensdreamfund.org.
