Sports Spotlight: Legacy’s Kylie Mills battles brain cancer

WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — In April, Kylie Mills was a normal kid, playing in tennis tournaments like she always does.

At the end of the month, something felt off.

“She was playing in a tennis tournament in Oklahoma City, we then played one in Wichita Falls, and in late April she started complaining about double vision,” Michael Mills, Kylie’s father said. “Around May 31, when we had our first MRI that showed there was a mass on her brain stem. It’s been a long journey since then.”

The Mills’ lives were turned upside down in that moment.

They planned to stay in Texas for her treatment, but her condition got worse, forcing the family to head out of state for critical care.

“We found out that it had been growing,” Mills said. “That is when they thought it might be a tumor, and it was going to be a couple of weeks before they could get her in at Cook Children’s. We had some contacts in Columbus and at Nationwide Children’s hospital. It is ranked in the top five in the country for both neurosurgery and neuro oncology.”

For the past month and a half, Columbus served as home to the Mills Family, and on Friday Sept. 6, the Mills were finally able to return to Wichita Falls.

“She got to ring the bell, and she was super excited about that,” Mills said. “The plan is to come home for six weeks to rest and if need be, then we will come back for a chemo immunotherapy trial.”

Kylie’s journey is far from over, but one of the biggest things that helped her get to this moment is tennis.

“One thing about tennis is, it’s just you,” Mills said. “There is no teammates you can blame. There is none of that. It is you versus an opponent. I think that is one of the reasons that Kylie’s done so well— it’s all on her.”

Luckily for Kylie and her family, she is not entirely alone in this fight.

The community raised nearly 93000 dollars for the Mills through a GoFundMe account.

“It is something that I talk about all the time with friends— Wichita Falls is one of the most giving communities I have ever been apart of,” Mills said. “I am so proud to call it home.”

With the love and support of the community, and the determination instilled from tennis, Kylie is primed to ace the adversity in front of her.

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