One Madison couple is transforming an unimaginable grief into an unstoppable force for good.
Alan and Karen Murray, who moved to Madison about four years ago, lost their beloved young granddaughter, Millie, in February 2021 after a long battle with cancer.
Millie Mracek passed away on Feb. 8, 2021, at just three years old. Her parents, Nick and Claire Mracek, established the Mighty Millie Foundation to keep Millie’s memory alive and to raise awareness about childhood cancer.
Alan and Karen partnered with the Morgan County Basketball program this season to raise awareness and funds for the Mighty Millie Foundation in honor of their granddaughter’s life and generous spirit.
“She was just the light of our life,” said Alan Murray. “I have never known a brighter child than our Millie.”
“We have been introduced to a world we never knew existed and we didn’t want to know, but now we are trying to create small moments that bring big joy in honor of Millie,” said Karen Murray.
Credit: Family Handout
Credit: Family Handout
The partnership between the Murrays and the Morgan County Basketball program yielded $300 for the Mighty Millie Foundation by selling popsicles during basketball games throughout the season.
The Mighty Millie Foundation, a non-profit based out of Marietta, aims to raise awareness about the prevalence of childhood cancer, raise money for cancer research and to provide children with cancer a simple pleasure during treatment sessions — popsicles.
“It’s a small thing, but it’s the one thing Millie really enjoyed during her treatments. It was one of those small moments in the course of the chemo during the day that meant a lot to Millie and helped her push through,” explained Alan.
Now, the Mighty Millie Foundation provides popsicles for 30 child cancer wards all across the country, donating more than 32,900 popsicles thus far. According to the foundation, The Mighty Millie Popsicle Project is dedicated in providing no sugar added, dye free, organic popsicle options for children in cancer treatment centers. The foundation has already donated tens of thousands of dollars to cancer research efforts.
“Cancer families, while we know these popsicles do not take the pain away or lighten our reality at all, we hope they bring a small moment of joy for your child. And serve as a simple reminder that we see you and that you are not alone,” said Nick and Claire Mracek through the foundation.
“It’s incredible how fast it’s grown,” said Karen of the popsicle program. “We are just so impressed with Nick and Claire and so proud of them.”
The Morgan County Basketball program was looking to adopt a charity this season and was eager to partner with Alan and Karen for the Mighty Millie Foundation. Alan volunteered this season to serve as an announcer for Morgan County basketball games.
“As the new Tip Off Club President this year, I have been able to see how much our athletes are blessed by the generosity of this community, and Coach Anderson, Coach Franklin and I wanted a way that the program could give back,” said Lindsay Peaster.
“Alan had so graciously agreed to be our ‘Voice of the Hoop Dogs’ completely on a volunteer basis, and so it just hit me one day that the Mighty Millie Foundation was a natural choice for us, and everyone agreed. It has been a special partnership; Karen and Alan have come to be such a big part of the basketball family, and we love being able to give towards something that is bigger than basketball.”
Alan and Karen continue to look for opportunities to sell popsicles to raise money for the foundation.
“We will do it anytime and anywhere we can,” said Karen.
Karen is also considering organizing a Fun Run or 5K in September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Credit: Family Handout
Credit: Family Handout
For Alan and Karen, selling popsicles at each basketball game was about much more than just raising money for the foundation.
“It’s really about raising awareness,” said Alan. “Childhood cancer is something not many people are familiar with unless they have been directly touched by it.”
According to the Mighty Millie Foundation, childhood cancer is more prevalent than most people realize.
“Every day in the US, 46 families hear the unimaginable words, ‘your child has cancer.’ That’s as many kids as a school bus,” reports the foundation. “Every day, these 46 families learn that the treatment options and outcomes for our precious children are not only excruciating, but may or may not have advanced in decades. Decades. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Unfortunately, Alan and Karen were one of those families touched by childhood cancer when Millie first fell mysteriously ill in 2020.
“It was right at the beginning of the pandemic,” remembered Alan. “It was completely out of the blue. She had never been sick a day in her life.”
According to the Mighty Millie Foundation, Millie woke up one morning with symptoms of Bell’s Palsy as one side of her face appeared droopy. This began a long and convoluted diagnosis process before doctors discovered the devastating cause.
“After an MRI and various scans, doctors found a malignant tumor growing at the base of her skull, tangled up in several cranial nerves, as well as evidence of disease in her lungs. The tumor was diagnosed as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue childhood cancer,” said Nick and Claire through the foundation. “This tumor was treatable and believed to be curable with prompt, aggressive chemotherapy and proton radiation.”
During ten months of treatment, Millie often visited Madison to see Alan and Karen.
“She just loved Madison,” said Alan. “We would watch her run across the stage at Town Park and she always wanted to eat Scoops Ice cream. She enjoyed going to Bill Wood Park and Hill Park. She loved coming here because she knew it meant a break from all the doctors and tests and treatments.”
Credit: Mighty Millie Foundation
Credit: Mighty Millie Foundation
After nearly a year of intense treatment, the cancer continued to spread and Millie sadly passed away in early 2021.
“We are at a point now where we want to move forward and pour into the foundation for Millie,” said Alan.
“It’s such a deep loss and grief, but we want to keep making small moments with big joy, because that is exactly what Millie would be doing if she were still alive,” said Karen.
“The depths of this loss for our family is indescribable. Our hearts ache so deeply for our Millie. She taught us so much about living a life of full joy and seeing the magic in the everyday moments,” said Nick and Claire. “As we move through each new day, we seek to honor her with beautiful small moments that bring great, big joy. Cancer didn’t win. Mighty Millie did.”
To find out more information about the Mighty Millie Foundation, how to get involved or how to donate, visit www.mightymillie.org.
Credit: Morgan County Citizen
Credit: Morgan County Citizen
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