Community Service Activities
Super T – Tees for Ty
By Discovery Middle School Instructors Tami Haman and John Watkin
Parents who arrived at Discovery Middle School for student-led conferences in February were greeted by
seventh grade students eager to help a classmate. Poster boards filled with photos, medical information, and
“Super T” t-shirts in front of the main office gave parents and students an opportunity to learn more about a
Discovery student who will be having a bone marrow transplant in April – Ty Miller (pictured at left).
The school shared Ty’s story on morning announcements with a video of Ty and
Assistant Principal Amy Herrick, explaining his medical situation and how the
Discovery family could help. Ty’s classmates learned that he has Polycythemia Rubra
Vera, which is secondary to Myeloproliferative Disease (MPD). MPD is a type of blood
disorder where the bone marrow fills with too many red cells and platelets. These cells
accumulate in the bone marrow and in the blood stream where they increase the blood
volume and cause the blood to become thicker than normal. It is also quite rare for Ty
to have this disorder because it typically occurs in people over 60 years of age. Due to
his MPD, Ty has also acquired a bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand’s Disease.
Upon learning more about Ty’s life threatening disease, his Discovery family rallied behind him to show their
support. Students offered their time to stay after school to make posters and sell shirts and the donations from
Discovery families started flowing in. After the first 100 shirts sold in less than two hours, more orders were
placed, and the support continued to grow. By the conclusion of three nights of conferences, a “Reading for Ty”
day on a sixth grade team, and donations from Kennedy Elementary School, Discovery sold more than 400
Super T shirts and received many more donations. Students and staff at Discovery Middle School then wore
their shirts on Wednesday, February 17. It was overwhelming to see the number of shirts worn in support of Ty
and his family. In addition to the donations given at Discovery, Bell State Bank has stepped in to help Ty’s
family with their “Pay It Forward” program.
“It was a great experience sitting at the table
selling shirts to raise money for Ty. Seeing the
Discovery community come together to support
such an amazing person is something I will
never forget. Another very special day was the
day a lot of students and staff wore their shirts.
Everywhere I went, it was like an explosion of
blue. Ty is a great person and a super friend, we
wish him the best of luck throughout the next few
months.” – Jessie Haman, Discovery student
Continued…
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©2016 Fargo Public Schools
Community Service, continued
Ty is in need of a bone marrow transplant in the hope it will cure his MPD. The procedure will take place in
April at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. In this procedure, abnormal stem cells in the bone
marrow will be replaced with healthy stem cells. There are several steps in the transplant process and because of
this Ty and his family will have to temporarily re-locate to Minneapolis.
Ty hopes to keep in touch with his classmates through Skype and email while he is in Minneapolis, but he will
be greatly missed at Discovery Middle School. Every time a blue Super T shirt is seen in the halls of Discovery,
students and staff will think of Ty and hope for a quick recovery and his return to Discovery next school year.
“It was really cool to see how many people supported Ty. Ty has always had tons of energy and can make
friends with everyone. He is a great friend to anyone and everyone. I’m lucky to call him a friend, he’s more
like a brother. I wish him the best of luck and know that he’s not going to let a surgery slow him down.”
– Tegan Lancaster, Discovery student
It is not too late for others to help Ty and his family during this time of
need. The family has set up a Go Fund Me account called “Ty Jackson
Miller – Benefit Fund.” The website is www.gofundme.com and you
can enter his name to find the donation information. There will also be
a benefit for Ty in April to help with his medical expenses.
#FPSproud Follow this hashtag on social media to learn of other
community service activities by FPS students.
Photos courtesy of Tami Haman and Jessie Haman
T-shirts printed by T-Squared, LLC
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