FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Frances Grace Hirs is a fifth-grade student at Fairhope Intermediate school. she likes playing with her dogs, Max and Gracie, and likes science classes, especially chemistry.

She even has a career goal.

“I want to be a nurse,” she said. You then discover she wants to specialize in pediatric oncology.

That’s a mouthful, even for a 10-year-old honor roll student.

It turns out she has had a lot of experience with the subject.

“Gracie” as she likes to be called, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when she was three.

The Hirs have decided to battle the disease, not only for Gracie, but for all children.

“We have got to figure out a cure,” said Allen Hirs, Gracie’s father. “It’s not fair to kids to take two to three years of chemo.”

Gracie agrees.

“It would be better if it were one shot and it was gone,” she said.

The Tee Off Fore a Cure Weekend is March 11 and 12 at Lakewood Golf Club in Point Clear. On March 11, there will be a party featuring former New Orleans Saints players, live music by Bryant Gilley and a silent auction.

There will be a golf clinic by Ron Gring, one of Golf Digest’s top 100 instructors on the 10th tee at 8:30 a.m. March 12. A golf tournament will follow.

The cost is $200 per golfer or $800 per team for the four-person scramble golf tournament. Non-golfers interested in attending the Friday night party can purchase tickets for $25 each.

There is also a tennis tournament at Lakewood Club at the Colony on March 12. Registration is $50 per person, which also includes a ticket to the Friday night party. There is also a 5k/1 mile walk/run the same day.

For more information, or to register for the tournaments or the run/walk, call Kerrie Benson at 251-610-4969.

All proceeds will benefit pediatric cancer research at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.

The five previous Tee Off Fore a Cure tournaments have raised more than $160,000.

A friend, Chad Chupeck, is organizing a Shoot for a Cure event, a target-shooting event in April.

The Hirs still shudder when telling of Gracie’s first bout with ALL.

“She had severe back pain, said her mother, Debbie Hirs. Debbie, a licensed practical nurse, sensed something was wrong. When Gracie’s doctor told her to give the child Motrin, she knew it was time to seek another opinion.

“The child was screaming. It sounded like her back was broken,” recalled Debbie.

A friend set up an immediate appointment with another doctor, and of course Gracie, like most children her age, decided to be contrary.

“She bounced in cute as a button,” said Debbie. But her new physician wasn’t fooled.

“The doctor took one look and said, ‘I bet she's got leukemia,’” said Debbie.

That was devastating to hear, Debbie recalls. The doctor ordered a batch of tests to prove or disprove his diagnosis. It took some searching.

“The CT scan showed she had five spinal fractures,” said Debbie.

But, nobody knew why an otherwise healthy girl had spinal fractures. More searching showed enlarged lymph nodes. Further testing confirmed ALL, which was most likely responsible for the fractures.

Debbie and Allen only had a few minutes to decide where their daughter, their only child, should be treated for a life-threatening condition.

Debbie said someone in the family had prior dealings with Children’s Hospital, so they decided to take Gracie there.

“The only thing I remember is the feeding tube,” said Gracie.

Both parents praised Gracie’s care at Children’s.

That feeding tube turned out to be a good “stick” to get Gracie to eat. After a mispositioned tube caused her great discomfort, Debbie removed it and kept it in a bag. If Gracie did not eat, Debbie told her that the tube would go back in.

Of course, Gracie had her preferences.

“If the food had feathers, she’d eat it,” laughed Allen.

Gracie learned the ALL returned in late April 2009. She’s currently going up to Birmingham for more aggressive chemotherapy.

“I remember a lot more about this (round of treatments),” Gracie said. Her mother added that the treatment is “longer and harder.”

The Hirs are expecting a cure.

“There's not good reason to expect otherwise,” said Allen.