Page 31 - Oundle Life April 2025

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Making Millie mobile
Millie Blair is an 11-year-old powerhouse – full
of determination, courage and an unstoppable
love for sport.
From a young age, she has thrived on the
football pitch and in the showjumping arena.
At eight, she became a captain of her age group
team at Oundle Town Girls, leading them for
three years. She worked tirelessly to earn a
place in Peterborough United’s Emerging Talent
Centre, one of the highest-level girls’
academies for her age. Never one to shy
away from a challenge, she also joined
Eye Jaguars boys’ team, where she was
welcomed as a fierce competitor.
Millie’s dreams were sky-high – she
wanted to play for Chelsea and the
England Lionesses. And why not?
Off the pitch, she excelled in British Show
Jumping, confidently competing at 80cm,
always trying to out-jump her big sister, Jessica.
And when she wasn’t on the field or in the
saddle, she’d be singing her heart out to ABBA,
so much so that the family dog was named ‘Mia’
after Mamma Mia!
In the summer of 2024, everything changed.
in the summer
of 2024,
everything
changed
The diagnosis that changed everything.
During a pre-season football match, Millie took
a knock. She felt pain but carried on, playing a
full match for the boys’ team the very next day.
A fighter through and through, no one thought
much of it at first as Millie had never been ill or
even had a day off school.
What was initially diagnosed as a
broken leg but turned into something
no parent should ever have to hear.
On her actual 11th birthday, Millie
was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma –
bone cancer, which only affects about
30 children a year in the UK.
We hoped that surgery and chemotherapy
would be enough, that the doctors could remove
the affected bone and that she could return to
the game and sports that she loved. But as the
tumour grew, there was no other option.
In January 2025, Millie’s left leg was
amputated above the knee but we love the newly
named left leg ‘Little Dave’.
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