Phillipsburg Boy, Jacob Grecco, Succumbs to Cancer Before Flying Home to Family

As we all gear up for the summer’s twilight entertainment events, hang with our friends and family at Labor Day picnics, and bask in the warm hum of summer evenings, keep in mind those who only wish they could have seen just one of these things.

As I’m sure you’ve already read in various local news outlets, a young, brave, boy who’s only wish was to return home to his family in Phillispburg before he passed away due to his fight with brain cancer, lost his battle just before he was set to leave.

An 8-year-old Phillipsburg boy scheduled to fly home from Germany Wednesday after failed treatment for his rare brain cancer died tonight before he could take the flight that well-wishers bought him so he could spend his final moments with his family.

Jacob Grecco died at 9:26 p.m. in a hospital in Bad Bergzabern, Germany, where he was in a medically induced coma earlier today, the boy’s father, Mark Grecco, said late tonight.

He said his son died with his mother, Stacey Lowmaster Gravina, nearby.

Jacob Grecco arrived in Germany two weeks ago with the hope that an alternative treatment could help a bleak diagnosis, but as his condition declined, doctors said he might not make it back to the United States.

His family couldn’t afford to bring him home, but within 24 hours of publicizing their predicament, a primarily Web-driven community rallied to secure a medical flight home from Germany. SOURCE: The Express-Times

Our thoughts go out to the Grecco family. We can only hope that the memories of their extraordinary son can serve to comfort them as they move forward.