TIGER TRACKS
Everyone in Milam County remembers the final snap of Rock-dale’s 45-21 championship state victory over Brock in 2017. The thing that stuck out the most to me when Gunner Miller took the final snap of the game was everything that led up to that final moment.
I thought about when his family thought Gunner had a severe case of shin splints the day after the district track meet. He placed fifth in the area meet which was lower than he anticipated. Less than two months later, he was going through 20 plus rounds of chemotherapy.
I think about the hundred or so days Gunner and his family spent in the hospital over the next couple of years. I think about his time on the green playing golf for RHS, which made it all the way to the state tournament his senior year.
I cannot even fathom the emotional toll that Gunner’s journey took on his family from the time he was diagnosed on April 24, 2015 leading up to that moment when he came out on the field and took the snap at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 21, 2017.
Since that moment, Miller has received international attention from publications including The Daily Mail (United Kingdom) and was trending on Yahoo Sports. The heartfelt moment was caught on camera by Fox Sports Southwest.
Gunner’s journey continues. On Thursday, Jan. 10, Miller had his fourth surgery at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin after he noticed that something was wrong with the plate that aligned his bones in his left leg.
“The metal plate in my leg was starting to bother me, ” Miller said. “So I went to the doctor, and found out that the plate broke and that the bones in my leg were starting to stick out. I needed to have surgery to prevent the bones from poking out of my leg.”
Three incisions and 80 staples later, the 2018 RHS grad was able to leave the hospital on Saturday, Jan.
12. Since arriving home, he has been tasked with making sure his leg stays elevated.
“He’s doing well,” said Jeff Miller. “But he can’t do a whole lot right now. He has to keep his leg elevated all of the time. He’s leading a very sedentary life.”
According to the younger Miller, he will rest another two weeks before going back to the doctor to get clearance to move around.
“After that I’ll be on crutches for a while,” Miller said. “I’ll be able to drive up to Taylor for my classes at Temple College. Eventually, I’ll be able to do things like hunting and fishing, and I look forward to doing that again.”
Miller was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in 2015, a rare cancer that occurs in bones or in the soft tissue of the bones. It usually affects people from the ages of 10 to 20 and has a high rate of being cured.
Ewing’s sarcoma affects about 200 children and young adults every year in the United States and shows up slightly more often in males.
Each year, about 225 children and teenagers in the United States are diagnosed with a Ewing tumor, most of which will be Ewing sarcoma, according to the American Cancer Society.
Gunner is the son of RHS head football coach and athletic director Jeff Miller and Angel Miller.
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