By Emily Beauter, Editor in Chief — Too often is it easy to get upset over the small things in life. It is not until one almost loses their grip on life that people stop taking things for granted. However, one girl who faced problems most students don’t have to deal with, kept a positive and upbeat attitude throughout her whole life.
“She never had a bad day,” mother Amy said. “She saw the good in everybody.”
Alexis, “Lexi” Miller passed away this past June awaiting a heart transplant.
“You really start to think differently about what’s important in life when something like this happens,” mother Amy Miller said.
Lexi’s heart condition was not discovered at birth and she was taken home with her family. However, Amy noticed that her daughter slept a lot and didn’t eat much. The doctors assured her mother everything was still okay at Lexi’s first checkup. However, the next day Amy took her back to the doctor after noticing abnormal breathing.
“Some say it’s mother’s instinct to know something is wrong,” Amy said. “When I got there, a doctor came in and took my baby to look at her. The next thing they told me was that she needed to be life flighted.”
The doctors told Amy that her baby had no pulse and was gray. Lexi was soon diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome meaning that the left side of the heart was smaller. Therefore, the right side had to do all of the work which explains why Lexi was so often tired and slept a lot. Up until she was five years old she had five heart surgeries. After the fifth surgery, Lexi was like any other normal child.
During this time, Lexi enjoyed life. She danced and was in plays. She starred in Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast. Like many other girls, she enjoyed shopping and doing nails.
“She loved being a princess,” Amy said. “She tried on Adam’s girlfriends’ prom dress on. She looked forward to high school, homecoming and prom.”
Music was very important to Lexi. She was fond of country music, her favorite band being the Rascal Flatts who she saw three times in concert. She also attended Faith Family church with neighbor kids and got herself baptized.
“She loved to stand and dance to the religious music at the church youth group,” Amy said. “She really connected with it. The only time she was sad was in the hospital was when she could not go to church on Wednesday but people from the church came to visit her.”
Everyday Lexi would write the verse of the day in her notebook since Bible verses spoke a lot to her. Quotes were also very meaningful to her. Her favorite quote was from the movie Soul Surfer based on Bethany Hamilton, “I didn’t need easy, I just needed possible”. This quote is also on the bench in memory of Lexi.
In school, Lexi would make special connections with teachers every year. Two teachers who Lexi really connected with are Greg McClellan and Tyler Adkins. McClellan would send Lexi a daily challenge while in the hospital. One would be to applaud every time someone walked in the room and another included saying hello in a different language every time someone walked in the room.
“They made her love school,” Amy said.
The Millers are good friends with math teacher Ryan Streb and was planning on having Lexi this year. On the first day of school, Streb left an empty desk for Lexi.
Lexi had no problems with her heart condition and was living a normal life until Memorial Day weekend. After collapsing due to a heart attack, Lexi was rushed to the hospital. She was revived and doctors informed the family she would need a heart transplant. This came as a surprise to Amy.
“No one told us that 80 percent of people with Lexi’s condition would need a heart transplant down the road,” Amy said.
She was transferred to Cleveland Clinic where she spent three weeks in the hospital with no problems. Amy spent the whole month in the hospital with her daughter as her roommate which her daughter loved.
“Lexi would roam the hallways and when the doctors came in, she would never be in her room for her checkup,” Amy said.
Like most teens, Lexi loved social media. She would ask all the doctors if they had a twitter and requested for them to follow her. Lexi wanted 300 followers and with the help of her older brother, she achieved that.
Lexi was at the top of the list for a heart within a 1,300 mile range and also eligible across the nation. The doctors told Miller she had a large range of hearts she could take, anywhere from 7 or 8 years old to 35 years old. With her large range of donors she could accept, the doctors said Lexi was a perfect match.
“All the odds were in our favor,” brother Adam Miller said.
“Waiting for a heart, you’d think people would be depressed but not her,” Amy said. “She didn’t ask about it and if one didn’t come in that day, she wouldn’t complain.”
Although a heart did not come in time for Lexi, she was able to help 50 families since she was an organ donor. Since everything aside from her heart was healthy and pure, many organs such as tissues, liver, eyes, skin graft, were able to be used.
“I didn’t think that she could help that many people,” Amy said. “It’s like she is living in someone else now.”
Although the Miller’s spent a month in the hospital, life did not stop. Adam missed his graduation to stay with Lexi. The day before his graduation party, Lexi had a seizure. They still went on with the party and Amy planned to stay with her daughter. To Amy’s surprise, a friend of Adam’s and his parents came up to the hospital wanting Amy to come down to the party. Even after the reassurance of doctors, Amy was weary. Lexi knew how much time her mother was spending with her and didn’t mind if she went.
“I was pulled out the door. They told me not to come back in six hours,” Amy said.” I was practically kicked out of the hospital.”
They also spent 6-7 weeks planning the “Walk for Lexi”. Adam came up with the idea to do a walk for medical expenses and organ donor awareness. Lexi really wanted to go but due to her illnesses knew she could not. Amy did not want to leave her daughter either. However, when Lexi passed, having the event was in question but Amy knew Lexi would want a party and that it would give a chance for her friends to say goodbye.
The community came together to help with the event and Lifebanc also came. Different companies donated baskets and volunteers signed up to help at the event.
“People started texting me asking if there was anyway to help and we were able to get a DJ for free,” Adam said.
The Walk was held July 10 at the school stadium. The event featured a glo walk, music, raffles, games and prizes, a basket auction and more.
“People came that I didn’t even know or knew Lexi,” Amy said. Nobody’s done anything like that for us before. I didn’t know it could affect that many people.”
“I was at peace. I knew the hospital wasn’t going to call and that Lexi was there walking with us.”
Through donations, there is a bench located on the walking trail by the baseball field in memory of Lexi. With Lexi buried in Chardon, Amy thought it would be a place to go to at the school. Amy always walks the track 4-5 times a week, ending at the bench. There is also a book that people can sign. So far, one book has been completed.
“On behalf of the Millers, we’d like to thank the whole community for your support,” Amy said.
Throughout all of this, Lexi remained her positive self.
“Waiting for a heart, you’d think people would be depressed but not her,” Amy said. “She didn’t ask about it and if one didn’t come in that day, she wouldn’t complain.”
Although a heart did not come in time for Lexi, she was able to help 50 families since she was an organ donor. Since everything aside from her heart was healthy and pure, many organs such as tissues, liver, eyes, and skin graftwere able to be used.
“I didn’t think that she could help that many people,” Amy said. “It’s like she is living in someone else now.”
Although the Miller’s spent a month in the hospital, life did not stop. Adam missed his graduation to stay with Lexi. The day before his graduation party, Lexi had a seizure. They still went on with the party and Amy planned to stay with her daughter. To Amy’s surprise, a friend of Adam’s and his parents came up to the hospital wanting Amy to come down to the party. Even after the reassurance of doctors, Amy was weary. Lexi knew how much time her mother was spending with her and didn’t mind if she went.
“I was pulled out the door. They told me not to come back in six hours,” Amy said. “I was practically kicked out of the hospital.”
They also spent 6-7 weeks planning the “Walk for Lexi”. Adam came up with the idea to do a walk for medical expenses and organ donor awareness. Lexi really wanted to go but due to her illnesses knew she could not. Amy did not want to leave her daughter either. However, when Lexi passed, having the event was in question but Amy knew Lexi would want a party and that it would give a chance for her friends to say goodbye.
The community came together to help with the event and Lifebanc also came. Different companies donated baskets and volunteers signed up to help at the event.
“People started texting me asking if there was anyway to help and we were able to get a DJ for free,” Adam said.
The Walk was held July 10 at the school stadium. The event featured a glo walk, music, raffles, games and prizes, a basket auction and more.
“People came that I didn’t even know or knew Lexi,” Amy said. “Nobody’s done anything like that for us before. I didn’t know it could affect that many people.I was at peace. I knew the hospital wasn’t going to call and that Lexi was there walking with us.”
Through donations, there is a bench located on the walking trail by the baseball field in memory of Lexi. With Lexi buried in Chardon, Amy thought it would be a place to go to at the school. Amy always walks the track 4-5 times a week, ending at the bench. There is also a book that people can sign. So far, one book has been completed.
“On behalf of the Millers, we’d like to thank the whole community for your support,” Amy said.
[Updated Aug. 12, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]
