A man whose daughter died at age seven helped organize a joyous Christmas celebration for other young patients at the pediatric hospital she went to.
On December 5, Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham held a Christmas party like none they’d ever thrown before, with nearly 350 Christmas trees, fake snow, and a visit from Santa.
The festivities were made possible in large part thanks to Mark Miller, whose daughter Mary Beth spent most of short life in and out of that very hospital before dying in 2013.
Good deeds: A man whose daughter died at age seven helped organize a joyous Christmas celebration for other young patients at the pediatric hospital she went to
Wow! On December 5, Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham held a Christmas party like none they’d ever thrown before, with nearly 350 Christmas trees and fake snow
It’s this guy! Santa showed up to greet the children as well
Something special: Each of the kids got to take a Christmas tree to bring back to their rooms
According to Good Morning America, Mary Beth has been born premature and with a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic right heart syndrome — health issues that required her to get her first surgery at just six months old.
She went on to have six open heart surgeries in all, including a heart transplant in 2011.
Sadly, the transplant led to complications, and Mary Beth died in 2013 at age seven.
With that history, Mark certainly knows what it’s like to spend Christmas in the hospital, and how hard it can be for children and their families.
So when he heard that the hospital wanted to throw a Christmas party this year, he got it involved — and made it more magical than they could have imagined.
In her memory: The festivities were made possible in part thanks to Mark Miller, whose daughter Mary Beth spent most of life in and out of that very hospital before dying in 2013
Mary Beth has been born premature and with a congenital heart defect. She had six open-heart surgeries including a transplant, but died at age seven
‘The difference between telling me and telling someone else about it is that I’d been on the other side. I knew what it was going to do [for the patients],’ he said.
Mark works at an Ace Hardware store, and got the idea to call around to other Ace Hardware stores, as well as their suppliers and distributors.
After weeks of work, he got them to donate nearly 340 artificial Christmas trees for the celebration.
He also got tree ornaments donated, and helped coordinate a visit from Santa and fake snow.
Making calls: Mark works at an Ace Hardware store, and got the idea to call around to other Ace Hardware stores, as well as their suppliers and distributors
Incredible! After weeks of work, he got them to donate nearly 340 artificial Christmas trees for the celebration
‘There’s a possibility that one of these trees will be the last one some kid gets,’ Mark said. ‘And if we can put a smile on his face, everything we’ve done is worth it’
‘What we always used to tell people about Mary Beth is that we don’t ask to be special, we fight to be normal, and that’s what those kids got to do for a little bit of time, they got to be kids,’ he said.
‘They didn’t have 50 people coming in to check their blood, change their dressing or adjust their oxygen tank. For just a small moment, just a little bit, they got to be a kid.’
The kids each got to come pick out their own tree to take back to their rooms, and photos and videos from the event show thrilled Children picking their trees, making ornaments, posing with Santa, and playing in the faux snow.
‘There’s a possibility that one of these trees will be the last one some kid gets,’ Mark said in a video for the hospital. ‘And if we can put a smile on his face, everything we’ve done is worth it.’