A Husker with a history of philanthropy now in need of help due to daughter’s rare diagnosis

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Barron Miles says it was the community of people around him that helped him earn the success that he achieved as a Husker football player.

Proving to be a top player each year he played, Miles was ultimately inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.

While at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he also met his wife, Jennifer, and the couple has been married for 29 years now. The pair has three kids.

His wife remembers when they met, describing Miles as grateful for the support around him and driven to give back to the community.

He started school programs that promoted reading and sports and pushed the message “never give up.”

Today, Miles and his family are asking the community to rise again as his daughter fights a rare and aggressive disease that their insurance carrier, United Healthcare, has repeatedly denied claims for.

The illness called gastroparesis entered their lives when their daughter Ava turned 16.

After the diagnosis, she lost thirty pounds in a month and would vomit constantly.

Jennifer Miles quit her job with the family’s fitness business to take care of Ava.

“Just because you’re going through a hardship or a health crisis, the bills don’t stop,” said Miles.

Also, because of the rare nature of Ava’s condition, she needed to travel to the Cleveland Clinic for specialized care.

Having sepsis and needing a heart monitor 24/7, the only available transport for her was an air ambulance, the cost? $40,000.

It was a service that United Healthcare repeatedly denied.

“It’s just really, really hard to be in that position and you feel like, you are paying for health insurance, you have jobs, and you are doing the responsible things, but it’s not cutting it,” said Kim Weeks, who is Ava’s aunt and Jennifer’s older sister.

Weeks started a GoFundMe page that helped change the family’s situation tremendously.

“You get a few donations, and then the more people share the story, the more it just starts rolling,” she said.

The fund helped get Ava the air ambulance to the Cleveland Clinic, where she received surgery and was given a gastric implant to help her stomach function properly.

“It absolutely restores your faith in humanity when you see the people and their level of caring,” said Weeks.

Unfortunately, things took another turn for the worse in the last few months.

Ava’s implant gave her another rare condition called Mals, which must be removed.

She must now make her way back to Cleveland again, but with more insurance denials, the family needs help.

“Every day, I’m trying to fight in different ways. We’re doing doctor peer-to-peer, there’s appeals, there’s letters, and I’m trying everything I can,” said Jennifer Miles.

“It’s such a heavy situation that our days are getting very heavy, and we kind of had to remind ourselves about gratitude.”

She’s referring to the ability to help their other two children live successful lives.

Their daughter, Raven, is an actress with a new movie premiering, and their son, Barron Jr., is waiting to be drafted by the CFL.

If you would like to support the Miles family, you can visit the following link here.

The family also created a social media page to share tips they’ve learned during this journey, and to help others stay positive. You can check it out here.