January 28, 2011
By Rebecca Gladden
A few weeks ago, I presented a four-part series about award-winning NASCAR writer and radio host David Poole, who passed away suddenly last year at age 50.
Many of you emailed me asking for follow-up information on Wessa Miller, the Make-A-Wish child that David had written about so eloquently in the months before his passing. Thanks to the generous help of David's wife Katy and Wessa's mom Juanita, I am happy to bring you this update on the Miller family:
For those unfamiliar with the story, Wessa Miller, now age 19, was just a little girl in 1998 when she met Dale Earnhardt prior to the '98 Daytona 500.
Wessa was born in October 1991 with spina bifida, a debilitating birth defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. Juanita recalls, "When Wessa was born, they told us [she would live] two years. When she made it two years, they said five years would be a long time. Praise the Lord, she's still here. They tell us to enjoy her while we can, so that's what we do. If she wants to do something or go somewhere, we do our best, because she never asks for anything and you never know when you get up what that day will hold."
As a young child, Wessa was given the opportunity to meet Dale Earnhardt through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "We asked her if she wanted to take him anything when we found out her wish had been granted," said Juanita. "All she wanted to give him was a penny. The penny she gave Dale was actually the third penny she was given -- she lost the other two between Kentucky and Florida. I guess the penny was lucky because it was the third penny - number three - and Wessa loved the number three and Earnhardt so much."
Earnhardt glued Wessa's lucky penny to the dashboard of his No. 3 car before the start of the race. He went on to win the Daytona 500 that year after twenty years of failed attempts and near misses. It was his only win of the 1998 season.
NASCAR writer David Poole entered the picture in 2008, ten years after that historic Daytona 500 victory, when he decided to try and locate the little girl with the lucky penny. As Juanita recalls, "David Poole contacted us in the spring of 2008. He was trying to get in touch with us to do a story on Wessa ten years after the Daytona 500 - 'what ever happened to the girl who gave Dale the penny?'"
Juanita notes that when David first contacted the family, "he talked to my husband Booker more than myself. Booker and Poole hit it off with the first conversation. We thought he was all-business, but he became a very true and dear friend. We all became very fond of David Poole and we will be forever grateful for all he did to help Wessa."
After meeting the Miller family, David learned that they were struggling with a number of serious challenges beyond Wessa's physical condition. "We had just moved and the house we moved into was not at all [wheelchair] accessible. Booker had just had emergency open-heart surgery. We started fixing a bathroom that was accessible for Wessa when Booker got sick. That was right after we met Poole the first time. He stayed in contact with us by phone and email."
The Millers had been given a wheelchair van through the generous donation of Dale Earnhardt after the '98 Daytona 500. But now, ten years later, "it was wearing out. It had many, many miles on it, and that was our transportation for Wessa. I think Poole's goal was to get her a van."
In his article on the Miller family, David wrote about the family's ongoing struggles. "After his story, many NASCAR fans wanted to help, so Poole set up the 'Pennies for Wessa' website,'" through which fans could make donations. Thanks to the outpouring of support, Juanita says, "We got to finish the bathroom and make repairs for her. It also helped with gas for the long trips to Lexington," where Wessa received medical care.
Though the 'Pennies for Wessa' account did not initially raise enough money for the Millers to buy a van, Juanita said, "After Poole's death, many donated to the fund he had set up for Wessa. With that money, we were able to get Wessa a van. We found it on the internet in New York. It was just what we needed. It was a used 2003 Dodge conversion van with 47,000 miles on it. It had a wheelchair lift and the back seat made a bed. It was exactly what we needed. So Poole was able to get his wish for Wessa. I just wish he could have seen it for himself. He would have been so happy."
The Millers met David in person before the spring race at Bristol, when he visited them at their home in Kentucky. "He asked if he could come here and meet Wessa before he went on to the race. Poole and his wife Katy came by for a few hours. After that is when he wrote his article. Then, Poole and Katy came back in January of 2009 and he brought Wessa the award he had won for her story."
Juanita remembers vividly the last time the family saw David. "We had last seen Poole at the spring race in Bristol. He had done all the arranging for Wessa to come there and see several drivers, spend time in the pits and the press room. That's where we saw David Poole do what he did best. He was very dedicated to his job. He did his job with pride and he was always concerned for the sport of NASCAR. I will never forget the day we left the track. He followed us out and stood there as we said our good-byes. That was the last time we saw David Poole alive. I can still see and remember him standing there. Such a great man."
Wessa Miller, the little girl who was not expected to live past age two, who had such an impact on Dale Earnhardt and the sport of NASCAR, is preparing to graduate high school in a few months, but not without ongoing difficulties. "Wessa hasn't been doing that well this last year," her mom told me. "In January and in August, we almost lost her. Her seizures are causing a lot of trouble now with her health and memory. She is 19 now and, if she is blessed to see October, she'll be 20. Lord willing, she will graduate in May or June. She is really having a hard time with school. She's lucky if she can go one day a week, sometimes two. She is on quite a few medications."
Juanita continued, "Wessa never complains. She is such a blessing. She has really had a tough life physically with many surgeries and hospitalizations, but she is such a happy, spirited person. She is an inspiration to many, especially to us. We thank God every day that he blesses us to spend time with her."
Wessa's family has nothing but gratitude for NASCAR, its fans, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Dale Earnhardt.
But they will always have a special place in their hearts for David Poole.
As Wessa's dad Booker said, "Dale Earnhardt was the best at racing. David Poole was the best at writing. They were two great men."
Note from Becca: Though the 'Pennies for Wessa' fund is still open, the website does not appear to be functional. Juanita Miller told me, "As far as financial needs, we do live on a fixed income, but I think we fare pretty well. It's only when Wessa has these unexpected episodes that it sometimes puts us in a bind. Her doctors are in Lexington, which is four hours away. We used to go down and back in one day, but, since Wessa isn't able, we have to stay. We stay at the Ronald McDonald House and that's a great help. When gas is so high, it's hard sometimes, but God has always made a way, and we are thankful."
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