Jillian is 10 years old and loves to dance and sing! She love bubbles, balloons and playing with Play-Doh with her two older sisters and her older brother. She loves watching makeup and nail tutorials on YouTube and has even been known to do makeovers on her mama. Her smile melts hearts.

One December day just before Christmas, Jillian and her siblings had all been sick with colds, but Jillian wasn’t getting better. Her dad, Josh, took her to the pediatrician. The pediatrician could tell something was very wrong and sent her for bloodwork. After that, things got “hazy and horrifying” for Jillian’s family. An aunt and uncle came to take Jillian’s mom to the hospital to meet her daughter and husband. By that evening, Jillian’s parents had gotten the terrible news that their child had leukemia. They spent the next fourteen days in the hospital, Christmas and New Years included.

Jillian’s cancer was acute and fast moving, so she started treatment immediately. She had a port placed and received chemotherapy. Jillian developed seizures as a side effect from one of the drugs used and has suffered moderate frontal lobe brain damage and developmental delays. She also walks on her tiptoes and may need leg braces in the future because of chemo and the surgery she received in 2019. In addition, she has had other hospital stays and significant side effects from treatment, including constipation, sores, drug-induced hepatitis, neutropenia and nerve damage.

In January of this year, Jillian injured her achilles tendon for the second time. While they recast, she is in a boot. She still struggles in school, but is learning and showing her strength every day. 

Jillian’s family hopes she will be able to move forward, make progress toward her goals and eventually accomplish all the things a typical child her age can do.

Jillian is her family’s hero because, her mom says, “She inspires me to be better and try harder every single day.”

Hero Quote:  "I'm so brave!!" -Jillian Miller

Information provided by Jennifer Miller, Jillian’s Mom
Updated March 2020