MINNEAPOLIS — Gabriele Grunewald, a professional distance runner who competed for the University of Minnesota, has entered comfort care. Grunewald’s husband, Justin, posted about the decision to move her to end-of-life care on Instagram Sunday.
Grunewald, 32, was born in Perham, Minnesota. She was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma — a form of cancer — in 2009. She was on both the Gophers’ track and cross-country teams at that time.
Even after treatment for her began — which included surgery and radiation therapy — Grunewald continued to compete and inspired many.
She was the 2014 U.S. indoor champion in the 3,000, reports the Star Tribune.
“It breaks my heart to say but overnight Gabriele’s status worsened with worsening liver function causing confusion,” Justin wrote June 9. “Wanting to do her no harm we have made the difficult decision to move her to comfort cares this afternoon.”
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“I wanted to let you all know while she is still alive so you can send her one last message here or on her wall or on her phone before she heads up to heaven,” he said.