OSTERBURG - A young Bedford County girl who bravely has battled cancer since the fall has been given a two-part gift from the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Heather Miller, 10, and her family are traveling to Pittsburgh, where the Steelers fan will have a meet-and-greet with several teammates during their training today. Heather will spend some one-on-one time with nose tackle Casey Hampton.
Heather was diagnosed in October with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer in bones or tissue. She applied to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children between the ages of 2 and 18 with life-threatening conditions.
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Heather Miller clowns around last weekend at a Cruisin’ 4 Courtney event, which raised money for children, including Heather, who has been battling Ewing’s Sarcoma since the fall.
"From what [Make-a-Wish] tells me, [Hampton] has just started making plans for Heather left-and-right and they had to put a stop to him until they could contact me," her mother, Wendy Miller, stated in an e-mail last week. "Casey and other members of the defense are really pumped to meet Heather and have some fun things planned."
Later in the day, Heather will take part in a feature story and photo shoot for Sports Illustrated for Kids.
Next week, Heather; her mom; dad, Don; and sister, Hannah; will travel to New York City, where Heather will act as a guest editor for the magazine, laying out her story and photos.
Wendy Miller said her family has not traveled much - they've only been to the Outer Banks in North Carolina - and were eagerly looking forward to the much-needed fun. Hannah usually stays behind while the family travels to Pittsburgh for Heather's frequent tests and treatments at Children's Hospital.
"We are so excited that as a family we can experience this together," Wendy said. "This will be a great family trip for us, but ultimately we are all so happy for Heather to have something to look forward to. She has been so brave and tough through everything that has been thrown at her."
For more information about Make-a-Wish, visit www.wish.org. For updates on Heather, visit www.commercialwebbing.com/heather.html.
