The Story Behind the Lilly and Miles Oldham Thompson Fund
When Ann Oldham talks about her daughter Lilly, she doesn’t dwell on the disease that cut Lilly’s precious life short or the pain that Lilly endured during her 10 years because of sickle cell disease. Instead, Oldham remembers how much Lilly loved learning and gardening and the bond Lilly had with her twin brother Miles.
“We wanted to give her every opportunity we could to be herself and not just be a child with sickle cell disease,” Oldham said. “We didn’t want that to define her.”
Oldham believes all families with children battling sickle cell disease should be able to give their kids the best life possible. That’s in part why Oldham and her husband Myron Thompson, a federal judge for the Middle District of Alabama, set up a Donor Advised Fund through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham to create the Lilly and Miles Oldham Thompson Fund in memory of their children.
Oldham and Thompson’s vision for the fund is that it will help support the UAB sickle cell clinic for children living in and around Montgomery, where Oldham and Thompson live, as well as other specialized programs and services that provide the support needed by children with sickle cell disease and their families.