Kaylee JoAnn Miller was always so beautiful and so tough at the same time - perfect duality. She wore her Elsa dress, belting out "Let it Go," while she shot at her brothers with her Nerf bow. She loved all of her siblings and was never happier than when she spent time with all of her large family. She loved baking and always enjoyed singing and dancing in the kitchen while making delicious treats that she just had to share with everyone she met. That was just Kaylee, always wanting everyone else to enjoy what she was enjoying too. While in the hospital getting her initial scans, one of the last things she clearly said was how she wanted to bake the hospital staff a chocolate cake and cookies when she was better as a thank you for being so kind and helpful. Even when she felt her worst, she was worried about others and wanted to make sure they were happy. Kaylee loved all creatures, big and small. From the huge animals at the zoo who always showed an inexplicable connection with her, to how all dogs gravitated toward her with love and protection, to how she would rescue bugs that got trapped indoors and make them little bug hotels to stay in for a night before she returned them safely outside where she knew they belonged.

Kaylee was always so goofy, playing pranks on everyone. She brought smiles and laughs wherever she went, and her mischievous little giggle is something her family misses so much. She was truly at her happiest when she was outside. She loved going on long hikes with her family, where she was always running off the trail and climbing up trees and looking at everything with pure wonder and joy. During the last three years of her life, Kaylee was fortunate enough to see so much of this country's beautiful nature while she and her family went around the country in a travel trailer. The ocean was always magical to her, and she loved climbing old trees in the redwood forests. Racing up sand dune hills was always a blast, and she had too much fun catching frogs and getting muddy in the Mississippi River. She loved going bowling with her family, and she always kicked butt in family board game night. She had the soul of an artist and always seemed to be covered in something from her latest super creative project. She was a happy, carefree spirit who inspired everyone that came around her to be the same. She brought happiness, laughter, and song everywhere she went.

In January 2019, Kaylee started experiencing occasional headaches and having trouble with her handwriting, which had never been a problem before. In February, she seemed to get a cold, complaining more of headaches and having minor difficulty swallowing, with what appeared to be swollen tonsils. She got better and was back to her old self in no time. In the middle of March, the symptoms came back, now with balance issues. Her family, assuming it had become an ear infection, scheduled her for a doctor's visit. Before the appointment, Kaylee began struggling to swallow, and her voice became shaky. After she started vomiting, her parents rushed her to the emergency room.

Kaylee was eventually transferred to Doernbecher Children Hospital in Portland, OR., where she was diagnosed with DIPG, a fast-growing and highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Her parents were told that Kaylee likely would not make it through the night unless they operated to relieve the pressure in her head but it would only buy them another week with her. After the surgery, Kaylee quickly became completely locked-in, losing all her abilities.

When things started getting worse for her as the week went on, her parents gave her cannabis oil to ease her symptoms and extreme pain, as other pain medications would have lowered her already dangerously low heartbeat and blood pressure. Kaylee began to get better, and her vitals stabilized. She was moved from the ICU into acute care, where she completed a course of radiation with few ill side effects and was feeling great.

Kaylee enjoyed a trip to Florida through Make-A-Wish, where she got to stay at Give Kids the World Village and see Disney World. She met all her favorite princesses and other characters, visited Hogwarts (which she even got a letter of acceptance for beforehand), and spent time floating in the pool and riding wheelchair-accessible roller coaster rides with her siblings and buscia. Kaylee returned to Oregon and her home away from home at The Ronald McDonald House, where she passed in July 2019 with her family by her side. Through it all, she never lost her smile, her little snort giggle at mischievous tricks, and the pure love that she had for every soul she met. She was truly an angel among us.

Kaylee still lives on in the minds of those who love her. They see her in every beautiful sunrise, knowing that only she could have painted it; in the eyes of every wild animal they cross paths with, with a gentle wink hello; in the smiles and laughter of new babies in their lives; and they feel her spirit near them always.

When Kaylee was first diagnosed, The Cure Starts Now reached out to her family with so much helpful information, resources, and caring words that really just meant so much. Kaylee absolutely loved the warrior shirts that her family received with her name on them and was so happy when she saw people wearing them. Funding for pediatric brain cancer research for a cure to DIPG means that one day no other family will have to go through the nightmare that is DIPG and lose their child. No parent should have to watch their child die or explain to their other children where their sibling went. It leaves a hole that will never disappear. Most importantly, no child should ever have to go through the pain and terror that is DIPG. It is horrific.

No child or family should have to suffer through such a devastating diagnosis with no hope for a cure. Research is desperately needed to find effective treatment options, the cure, and hope.

1 in 330 children in the U.S. will develop cancer by age 20.

On average, 15,500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Cancer is the #1 killer of children by disease in the United States, yet it remains one of the most underfunded diseases in the world.

The Cure Starts Now focuses on the Homerun Cure™ for all cancers by concentrating our research funding efforts on the deadliest forms of cancer. With over $15 million in pediatric brain cancer research funding to date, you can rest assured that 100% of your donation, after credit card processing, will go directly to innovative research. Please join us in funding crucial research to save our youngest warriors.