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Mother of two, with terminal cancer, gets Month of Giving surprise

Posted at 4:54 PM, Dec 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-22 16:55:34-05

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Vania Gross has always loved taking care of other people. Compassion has been the center of her life.

At the age of 16, she became a volunteer EMT with Powhatan County. After graduating, Vania went on to get her nursing degree so she could continue her work in the medical field.

Her first RN job in 2015 was in the Emergency Room at Johnston-Willis Hospital. She was nominated for the Rookie of the Year Award.

In January 2018, she took another nursing job in Labor and Delivery at Henrico Doctors' Hospital, where she won the Daisy Award for her compassionate service to others. She was also involved on a bereavement committee that helped families who had lost a baby.

Vania's life was turned upside down in November of this year, when she was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a tumor on her brain stem.

Her last wishes are to help her loving family by easing their burden.

Vania is married to her high school sweetheart, Scott. He recently graduated from VCU and is about to start a job in commercial real estate.

The couple has two sons, 2-year-old Colton and 1-year-old Austin. Vania says her greatest love is her family.

CBS 6's Tracy Sears helped surprise Vania with a $500 donation to The Gross Family Hope Fund, a gift card for a family fun night and toys for Colton and Austin. VCU's Rodney the Ram also surprised the family with 22 tickets to a corner suite for an upcoming VCU basketball game. The family says they are so excited to have something fun to look forward to.

Vania says she wants to spend her final months loving her family and spending every moment making memories.

The CBS 6 Month of Giving is made possible with help from our friends at Loyalty Automotive. Look for new Month of Giving segments each day on CBS 6 News.