Gabby Miller Surgery Support Fund

My name is Marinda, and I am creating this fundraiser on behalf of my niece Gabby Miller. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Gabby underwent a lifesaving surgery for colon cancer. This dear girl has been receiving routine colonoscopies since the age of seven, so about two-thirds of her whole life. Her most recent procedure in August revealed over 500 polyps in her colon that the doctors told her would 100% turn cancerous in a matter of time. Her only chance to avoid this outcome was to have her colon with all of its polyps removed.

Gabby is a vibrant young woman who is diligently working her way through school and works as a dental assistant. She has aspirations to work her way up to dental hygienist. Even though Gabby has only been a dental assistant for a few months, her co-workers, office staff, and boss have been sending loving support from flowers to check in texts in concern for her as she has become a ray of sunshine in the office and a quick study.

At the moment, Gabby is home resting, unable to attend her class or go to work. The procedure itself took somewhere close to eight hours to complete with a five-day hospital stay that kept her from seeing her beloved grandparents and helping with the Thanksgiving Day preparations as she has done every year since she was little. Less than a week after her release from the hospital, Gabby was readmitted because of a viral GI bug that had her severely dehydrated and at risk for post-surgical complications.

Gabby’s current expected recovery time from this first surgery is projected to be at least a month and possibly up to another couple of weeks after that. During that time, she will be without income as she is unable to do much until she is medically cleared at her post-surgery appointment. Our biggest concerns are her having enough gas money to drive over an hour one way for her upcoming appointments as well as for her phone to ensure that she has a way to contact her medical team in the case of an emergency and her much-needed family and friends for support and to even run small errands for her from time to time. All of this is in addition to her portion of the hefty medical bills. To make matters worse, in three months she has a follow-up surgery and will have to go through this all over again: the healing, the mandatory time off for recovery, and those oh-so-dreaded bills piling up while she endures it all.

Gabby is a fairly independent young woman; she always has been. She has the determination and strong work ethic that comes from being raised on a Nebraska farm. But this is one of those times where her fierce fighting spirit and quick thinking are not going to be quite enough. We are hoping that you will help us to raise $15,000 to help us support Gabby with her cost of living including food and housing, her travel, and any medical costs that are left for her to cover.

We hope that you might be able to contribute $15, $20, $25, $35, or even $50 to help build up a fund that will allow this vibrant young woman the time she needs to heal.

Our sweet girl pre-surgery:

Our dear girl post-surgery:

Our fiery fighter after waking up: