An irreplaceable keepsake was returned after it was lost on the Boston Marathon course.When Michelle Alessandro took off in Hopkinton on Marathon Monday, she intended to cross the Boston Marathon finish line with someone very special, her Nonna."Essentially the thought was for her to be able to run with me the whole time," Alessandro said. "I could touch my pocket and know that she's going to help me cross the finish line."This was Alessandro's first Boston Marathon. She ran for Dana Farber Cancer Institute in memory of her grandmother, Vincenza Petriello, who died from complications of leukemia at the age of 83.Along with all the race day essentials, Alessandro also packed an original photograph of her Nonna, with a heavenly message on the back, which said, "Always know I'm here today in spirit and every mile you run. I was blessed to have you as my granddaughter — Nonna."However, when Alessandro reached Mile 26, she noticed Nonna wasn't there."It was around Mile 10 where I noticed," Alessandro said. "I looked into my pocket went to touch it, and I noticed she was gone, and at that point I was completely devastated."Alessandro thought the photograph was gone forever until she received a Facebook message from someone who saw the lost photo posted in a running group.As it turns out, another runner, Rhonda Hodge, had found the photo at mile 8, picked it up, and ran the rest of the way with Nonna tucked in her pocket."She had claimed it was staring at her," Alessandro said. "She had to grab Nonna. Nonna was calling to her."Hodge mailed the photo back along with a care package and special note, which said, “Thanks for sharing her love with me for all those miles —love, Rhonda"This move goes to show that running Boston really is a celebration of the human spirit."My Nonna always had hope," Alessandro said. "It just goes to show how unparalleled the Boston community, running community is, how strong we are all together, and (that) there's great people out there."Alessandro said she and Hodge plan to meet each other in person soon and maybe even run a marathon together one day.