My Name Is: Carl Miller - #lakewoodnews

About me

I was born and raised in Manchester, Michigan, which is a small farming community of about 1,200 people. I completed an undergrad degree at Michigan State and graduate degree at University of Michigan, both degrees in psychology.

In the 1970s, I was with the Lakewood Police Department as the media relations officer. After that, I became a security consultant, designed systems for large commercial applications. After my heart transplant, the University of Colorado Health (UCH) contacted me and said they were starting a new program called Patient and Family-Centered Care. They wanted me to be a volunteer to start the program and offered me the director job in the department in 2009.

My heart attack

I had my heart attack on Thanksgiving Day 2000, and was admitted to UCH, where I spent the next five months in intensive care. One balloon pump device kept my heart beating for those five months.

In March of 2001, I became the third person in the state to receive a left ventricular assist device. After a couple of weeks on that, I finally received a transplant in April 2001. While in the hospital, I suffered several scares, including a stroke.

Saving my life

I never had the opportunity to meet my donor's family. I had to learn to do everything again because my body had deteriorated. I took longer to recover than some other patients because of setbacks I experienced.

I now enjoy ball games with my kids and was gradually able to bowl and work in the yard. I received the call from UCH in 2006 to volunteer with their new program, before being offered the director title in 2009. I now get to work with some of the nurses that worked to save my life. I am able to have lunch with my surgeon every once in a while.

The importance of being a donor

I think people don't realize the effect it has on people's lives. I look at life since the year 2000 as a bonus --; being able to watch my kids grow up, being with my wife another 15 years and counting, and getting this job at UCH. People assume I can't do things, but that's just not true.

I visit people that are waiting for heart transplants often. They are scared and want to know what life will be like after. Life can be whatever you want it to be.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/My-Name-Is-Carl-Miller,234164?branding=15