Bluffton mom lost teen son to cancer in August. Here’s how she’s keeping his memory alive

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When Bluffton teenager Michael Mugrage died on Aug. 28, he left marching orders for his mom: Keep trying to help other children with cancer.

Mugrage, who was a 16-year-old student at May River High School, had been diagnosed 10 months before with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

“The day he died, there were fundraising efforts for his charity,” said his mother, Jessica Mugrage.

Through lemonade stands, the sale of hundreds of mailbox bows to commemorate September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and the Tiger Bass Race held each fall in Hampton Lake, among other fundraisers, more than $13,000 has been collected in Michael’s name for CURE Childhood Cancer. The Atlanta-based nonprofit funds research specifically into childhood cancer and provides resources for affected children and their families.

Jessica said she is working with CURE to start a fund in Michael’s name, and additional fundraisers are being planned.

“He wanted fundraisers to help other kids and give them a start at having a life,” Jessica said.

The teen’s focus on service to others goes hand in hand with his dream to be a police officer.

Just weeks before his death, the Bluffton Police Department helped fulfill that dream and swore in Michael as an honorary officer. Department personnel and officers from other area agencies turned out in full force for Michael’s celebration of life service.

“I can’t believe my child is gone. A year ago, my child was here, and he was talking about wanting to be a police officer ... He had so much more to do,” Jessica said.

The single mom and her younger son, Matthew, who is 12, have been to bereavement retreats twice at Camp Sunshine in Rutledge, Georgia. She said she continues to deal with insurance issues and medical bills related to Michael’s treatment as she and Matthew grieve.

“Everyone said I was so strong, but when everyone left my home, I crashed,” Jessica said. “I had to be strong for everyone else.”

She said she is grateful and awed by the support from the community after Michael’s diagnosis.

“On his deathbed, he said he didn’t want people to forget about him,” she said. “We are just trying to keep his memory alive.”