Overwhelmingly Blessed

I have gone back and forth about whether or not to share this particular story with you that follow us on our blog because you have done so much for us already and we don't want you to feel like you in anyway need to do more. We have had meals brought to us by you, letters from across the world poured in for Millie because of you, gifts to brighten our day, prayers have been offered, my house cleaned, or something as simple as sending a text to see how we are. I would never take for granted the blessing we have seen come to our family the past couple years from our support system. We did however have the most amazing thing happen to us and I want everyone to know about it and know that I have a whole group of complete strangers supporting Amelia and my family right now in a different way.

We were asked by a mom from my sister Lindsay's preschool if her husband, who is a web designer, could put together a site for Millie. At first I was a little confused because we already have a blog where I update on the family and keep people posted about Millie but when I learned more about what they wanted to do I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Her husband, Brian, works for a company called RealCove and he asked me to write Millie's story so he could share it with the Ute Fan website. At this point in Millie's treatment we have not asked for help financially because we decided we would focus our efforts towards the charities that we love and have done so much for us. Although we have been overwhelmed it just never felt right having a fundraiser for ourselves. In the meantime Brady and I have been very stressed about the never ending bills that keep coming our way. We have had to put off a lot of our plans for the future because nothing is more important to us then our children. Brady even developed a heart condition from the stress of everything and blackout hitting his face when he was on a business trip in Denver.

Isn't he pretty

Brian set up a link for the UteFans, where he wrote what I have copied down below. You can also read our story in my words and see Millie's new website here, along with more written by RealCove, the creators of "Meet Millie". We are so grateful for the help we have received at this point and overwhelmed at the response that Millie's page has already had. Thank you so much to everyone for your love and your support. My sister said it best, "We get to see the blessings that tragedy brings." It is so true. Our little family has faced a lot the past while, but we have also seen amazing things happen because of the love that surrounds us

In the words of Brian (some of the pictures are different then the ones he had because they wouldn't load properly):

This is Millie. She is one of my heroes. She and her family are also diehard Ute Fans (as are most heroes).

In 2009 Millie's mom had to have an emergency C-section, her new little brother spent a month in NICU.

After 31 extremely stressful days Austin was sent home on oxygen, but what the family didn't know was that Millie was actually very sick. She wasn't herself, she tried to be happy, but she just couldn't be. She was whiny and complained that her legs hurt, and often asked to be carried.

A worried mom fought through doctors that insisted that this was just normal child behavior. She finally insisted that she have a blood test. In December of 2009, Millie was diagnosed with Leukemia.

This is Millie on her diagnosis day

Millie began a valiant fight, and she is very brave, but it hasn't been easy. The steroids made her body bloated and too much for her little legs to carry.

And she needs chemo treatments through 2012.

The first thing Amanda, Millie's mom, said to me when we first talked about this was that she didn't quite know what to do, they hadn't ever asked for help like this before. The truth of the matter is, these are exactly the type of people you want to help. They haven't focused on themselves, but if you read their blog you'll find they are supporting others, and other causes to fight cancer.

But the truth is, in addition to the hardships that Millie is fighting through, there is a toll on the family both physically, mentally and emotionally. There is also a toll that can last much longer than the effects of this terrible disease, and that is the financial burden.

They are lucky enough to have insurance, but despite it there are still growing bills and they need help to ensure that Millie gets her treatments through 2012. Having had my best friend go through this, I can say that approaching lifetime max's, on top of copays, coinsurance and treatments that are simply not covered by insurance, the bills are overwhelming.

Treatments are going well, she just needs to be able to cross that finish line.
I know that this board (http://www.utefans.net/) is capable of doing great things together, we've done it before. We've raised lots of money for deserving people and families before, and WebMonkey and I agree that while there are many deserving people out there, the Flamms are certainly one of them we should get behind as a community.

The whole story can be found at a site we put together for them here. You can donate money there. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Flamm family. If you can help them out, it will make all the difference. If you are tight on funds, skip a meal, or a Starbucks, and consider what it would mean to you if you were in their shoes.

Take a minute to check out the site, the photos alone will break your heart and also help you see what an amazing and resilient person Millie is. You know me, I hate everyone and this little girl has won my heart over.

Let's do something great this summer, dig deep and make a miracle happen for such an inspirational person. I declare Operation Millie!

*This is Amanda again; Operation Millie has been very successful and is still going strong. There are no words to express my gratitude. I am in shock as to what has come about because one person decided to create a website. I whole community has stepped up to support us, along with their friends and family from other states. Thank from the bottom of my heart.

Meet Millie.....