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Formerly a triathlete, the Oakland mom and Montvale teacher took advantage of each ounce of independence that remained after being diagnosed six years ago.
Every cherished moment was spent with her daughter, Mikayla, with whom she was pregnant at the time of her diagnosis.
"What’s driving me is my desire to still be there and exist for many reasons,” Myhre told Daily Voice last year. “But primarily for my daughter.”
Myhre died Saturday morning. She was 43. Her family announced her passing on the GoFundMe campaign, which had raised nearly $17,000 as of Sunday morning:
"At home peacefully, in the early morning hours yesterday, Donna Myhre lost her battle with ALS.
"While pregnant with her daughter and given a prognosis of only 2-5 years to live, Donna’s dream was to make it to see her baby girl go to Kindergarten. She did just that, beating the odds, she made it to take Mikayla to her first day of Kindergarten and was there to pick her up after her first day.
"We would like to thank everyone who has helped Donna, her family, Mike, and their five year old daughter Mikayla over the years. Thank you for your thoughts, kindness, support, love and prayers. We will miss you Donna, forever in our hearts."
A celebration of life for Myhre is scheduled for Oct. 13.
Coming to terms with the slow-progressing disease proved challenging for Myhre. But she said she had no regrets.
"Some people say 'I wish I used my legs while they worked'," she noted one day last summer, as Mikayla played in her lap on their back deck. "I did, I really did."
"Or they'll say, 'I wish I could've done nice things for people before they had to do nice things for me.' I really did.
"There are such nice people in the world. Even if I'm not here, [Mikayla] will be fine. Somebody will always pick up the pieces, and that's comforting."
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