COLUMBUS — Beating brain cancer isn’t easy, especially if you get it when you’re a child.

And there’s a teenager who’s not only defying the odds, but also going the extra mile to help find a cure.

What You Need To Know

  • Natalie Gray was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer when she was 13

  • She is passionate about dancing 

  • She began her own foundation to help raise money for research to help others who have pediatric brain cancer 
 

 

Natalie Gray is passionate about dancing.

“We dance at all the home football games, the basketball games, it’s so hype, the whole school comes,” saidGray.

It’s something the Olentangy Liberty junior started doing when she was just 3 years old. But three years ago, she had to put dancing on hold.

“I did studio dance up until I was diagnosed at 13,” Gray said.

She was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer, and it all happened so suddenly.

Hours after she went to the emergency room in 2021, she underwent her first of three emergency surgeries.

“I was trying to answer the question, ‘why me?’ And why so many other kids have to go through this,” Gray said.

Since then, she’s been on and off chemotherapy, and the treatment she’s received hasn’t been easy.

While it forced her to step aside from dancing, it also motivated her to try something new.

As a 14 year old, she launched the Natalie Gray Foundation with the goal of raising money for pediatric brain cancer research.

“And with the help of the community, and my friends and my family, it just blossomed from there,” Gray said.

Since then, the foundation has raised more than $200,000, thanks in large part to board members like Shawn Wagner, who have been inspired by Gray’s story.

“She’s a very incredible student, she’s full of life, she’s exciting to be around, she’s an inspiration,” Gray said.

And when it comes to raising money for pediatric cancer research, Gray is seemingly unstoppable.

From a partnership with Nationwide Children’s hospital, to fundraisers at school, and even a gala and a golf tournament she doesn’t leave any stone unturned.

“A lot of us get our motivation from her, she’s just, ask her to do anything and she’s just right up there doing it so it’s just impressive for a 17-year old,” said Shawn Wagner, with the Natalie Gray Foundation.

And now as she winds down her high school career and takes a break from treatment, she’s back to doing what she loves most, as one of the newest members of Olentangy Liberty’s dance team.

“All of the girls are like sisters to me and it’s definitely my favorite,” Gray said.

A favorite passion that’s self-fulfilling, for a teenager whose selflessness shines through.

Natalie’s annual golf tournament is next month, and by the end of it, she expects to eclipse their initial $250,000 fundraising goal.

And they’ll have done it in about two-and-a-half years, far quicker than the five years that they originally expected it to take.

As for her treatments, those are currently on hold, as she goes back for scans every three months.