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For the past two years, the Massapequa gymnastics team has hosted an annual “Cartwheel for a Cure” fundraising event, which benefits the Madison Milio Memorial Fund.
This year, gymnastics seniors honored Madison, a 9-year-old Massapequa girl who passed away in 2021 after a nearly three-year battle with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a type of brain tumor. I decided to make something special to honor it.
“Before every season, we have our seniors create a design for the team’s T-shirts,” Massapequa coach Katie McCabe said. “This year they told me they had a surprise for me, and I thought that was a funny saying. When I was shown what they had been up to, I was shocked.”
On Saturday morning, the seniors unveiled shirts featuring half of the blue and yellow Massapequa “M” logo and half of the purple and teal “M” logo used in Madison’s honor.
“It felt like the right thing to do,” said Vera Conlon, a senior on the Massapequa team. “We look forward to this event every year. This cause is important to us and the community, so we wanted to show that we are always thinking of Madison.”
Kristen Milio, Madison’s mother and Sewanhaka gymnastics coach from 1999 to 2007, was at the event with her husband Michael and son Dylan. She said she was moved to tears when she saw what her team had designed.
“It’s incredible that they thought of her and tried to go above and beyond,” Kristen said. “This day was tough because Madison was supposed to be a 6th grader here at Varner Middle School this year. But considering what they’ve done, it’s great that she’s really here with us today. I understand.”
In the spirit of service and in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there were no winners announced at the 9th annual fundraising competition, which featured all 21 Nassau gymnastics teams. The only competition was a cartwheel contest, where more than 200 gymnasts took to the mat and attempted as many cartwheels as possible in one minute.
“As a coach, you want to teach kids to help others,” said Nassau gymnastics coordinator and Bethpage coach Kim Rattigan. “This day is about awareness, not scores. We want to encourage them to pay it forward.”
According to Kristen, since Madison’s death, the foundation has donated more than $65,000 to DPIG’s research and trials, thanks in large part to Cartwheel for a Cure.
“As time goes on, people start to forget, and I want the Milios to know that she is still with us and continues to have an impact,” Rattigan said. “We will continue to treat her as long as we can and help find a cure.”
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