Bedford girl ‘gets her angel wings’

OSTERBURG - Shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, Heather Miller, 11, passed away in her mother's arms in their Bedford County home, 15 months after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Heather, the daughter of Don and Wendy and younger sister of Hannah, 12, was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma

in October 2008. Ewing's Sarcoma is a childhood cancer of bone and soft tissue.

After 12 rounds of chemotherapy in late 2008, two surgeries in early 2009 and seven weeks' worth of radiation treatment, Heather's cancer returned in August 2009. A total of three tumors were removed in surgery in mid-September, before a new protocol of at-home chemotherapy began. Another tumor was discovered close to her heart late last year.

Martin Garrett of Roaring Spring knows the loss of a child well. His 3-year-old son, Eli, passed away in May from non-Hodgkin's T-cell lymphoma. Garrett and his family, including girlfriend, Tammi, and daughter, Kayleigh, met the Miller family at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh shortly after Heather endured a surgery to remove some of her ribs.

"They're a great family," Garrett said of the Millers. "They helped me out and have been very supportive to me. I'm just happy to have met them and to be a part of Heather's life."

Older sister Hannah was just as strong as Heather, Garrett said.

"Whenever Heather was sick and the family had to be away, Hannah adapted well," he said. "Hannah did an exceptional job of accepting the situation and making it as easy on the family to take care of Heather. She did a good job of being a good sibling."

Heather, he said, was a "great girl" who liked to joke around and play sports.

"She was mature way beyond her age," Garrett said. "She was very upbeat and was always very compassionate and concerned with other people even though she was sick herself. She wanted nobody to be concerned about her."

Garrett said when he heard Heather likely only had a few hours left to live, he asked a favor of Wendy.

"I asked her to ask Heather if she would hold Eli's hand [in Heaven] until I got there," he said. "It never gets easier, and it never will. There's always that void there."

Throughout her treatments, Heather took great comfort in a relationship with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with visits and a special friendship with player Troy Polamalu. Heather was chosen as a Make-A-Wish Foundation kid in May 2009, spending a day at the team's training camp and being a guest editor for Sports Illustrated Kids magazine. She also was featured on the "Today Show" in September 2009.

Heather and her family also began distributing green FROG bracelets. FROG, or Fully Rely on God, had been Heather's mantra throughout her ordeal.

Wendy has been sending daily updates through the Children's Hospital CarePages Web site on Heather's condition to supporters across the region.

Shortly after Heather's passing, an update titled "Angel in Heaven" read, "At 10:05 p.m., Heather peacefully went to be an angel in Heaven. Wendy was holding her in her arms singing, 'Our God is an awesome God.'"

On Saturday, Wendy wrote, "It's much harder than I ever imagined. Thinking I was 'ready' yet I think we love so much we are never ready or prepared when it's our child, but because we love them, we will get through it for them. After all, for all that she's been through, I will, like you, let her be my inspiration."

Heather's parents released some smiley-faced balloons they had received from loved ones earlier in the week. Heather had received hundreds of letters, cards and packages in recent weeks as her condition worsened. Numerous fundraisers and community events had been held in Heather's honor in the last year.

"The community was great for them," Garrett said. "They've done wonderful things. They gave her family the ability to spend time with her, which is one of the most helpful things."

Friends will be received from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday at Heartland Hall and 10 until the 11 a.m. funeral service Tuesday at Heartland Hall. Interment will be held at Bedford County Memorial Park.

"I told her God sends us all here with a plan and for a purpose," Wendy wrote Saturday afternoon. "She just worked so hard and is the first one done with her assignment. She got angel wings. She is among angels. She is the one with the green wings."

An R.I.P. Heather Miller Facebook page had more than 1,300 members by Saturday night. Facebook messages on Wendy's page said that many people in the area would be wearing green on Monday in honor of Heather. Students at Chestnut Ridge School District and workers at New Enterprise Stone & Lime wore green Friday in honor of the young girl.

For more information, the Millers have been maintaining a Web site at commercialwebbing.com/heather.html.