2013 GRACE Gala Chairs, Mike & Sheri Mills appreciate how precious time is
brbr
While it's now the dead of winter, we wait for the grass to green again and temperatures to soar past 100 degrees, we also wait for the massive doors of the Irving Convention Center to once again open for the GRACE Gala on Saturday, October 12.
But while we wait, there's no time like the present to begin planning for what will be a magical, sensational tenth annual fundraiser for GRACE. Southlake's Sheribrand Mike Mills, the chairs for the 2013 GRACE Gala, know how precious time is—bras Mike’s was nearly cut short.
A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1995, Mikebrsuffered a near-fatal motorcycle accident while serving in San Antonio. brThe near-tragedy dramatically changed the direction of his life.
Sheri and Mike believe a string of miracles led to hisbrsurvival, including the proximity to the military hospital and a young surgeon,brDr. Tyler Putnam. Dr. Putnam ran 486 units of blood through Mike's tornbrbody. His heart stopped twice, but Dr. Putnam never stopped.
Mike underwent so many surgeries that doctors “laced”brhim up rather than suturing to allow access for the next surgery. Mike was in abrcoma for over a month and his grandmother came to be by his side so Mike'sbrmother could return home to care for his siblings.
Then the doctors told Mike's grandmother to call hisbrmother back to San Antonio because it “was time to let him go.” With Mikebrbarely clinging to life, held together with surgical wire and breathing bybrmachine, Mike's grandmother slipped away to a Taco Cabana for a bite to eat.
As Mike's grandmother tells it, a disheveled man walkedbrinto the Taco Cabana, straight up to her as she stood in the order line. “Thisbris not my normal Taco Cabana,” he said. “I go to a Taco Cabana a few milesbraway. But now that I see you here, I know that I am supposed to tell you thatbrhe will be okay.”
That day as Mike's mother was on her way to San Antoniobrexpecting to find the worse, Mike's vitals drastically improved and he took anbrincredible turn for the better.
While his recovery lasted a year, and Mike will carrybrthe scars from that horrible trauma for life, both Mike and Sheri believe thatbrhe was left here for a reason. They struggled a long time with what that reasonbrcould be. Mike thought he was left here to do something “GREAT.”
“When you survive something horrible like the crash Ibrwas in, you look for the impact you make on the Earth to be one big event asbrwell,” said Mike. “It took us some time, but we realized that it's not about onebrbig thing. It's about all the little things you do to help the next person, sobrthey can go on to help the next person.”
“That's exactly right,” said Sheri. “Good will actuallybrperpetuate, if you just start it. For example, I could only afford to help the FeedbrOur Kids program one day in the summer. When I told my neighbor about thebrprogram, she wanted to help too, and suddenly she had taken the lead for abrsecond day. It’s that pay-it-forward mentality that makes GRACE great.”
“And that's when it occurred to us that GRACE is thebrvehicle that allows us to make these changes,” concluded Mike.
Sheri and Mike met at the Byron Nelson Golf Tournamentbrin 1997 and the two were married in 1999.
Mike and Sheri have three children, Alli, a 5th graderbrat Durham Intermediate School, Tyler Marie, a 3rd grader at Walnut GrovebrElementary, and MJ, a 4-year old who attends the Spanish School House inbrSouthlake.
The entire Mills Family volunteers a GRACE, throughbrboard positions, the God Squad, and the Feed Our Kids children’sbrprogram.
Photo Courtesy of Skipping Stone Studio