LeRoy "Miracle Woman" to be featured on Discovery Channel

January 18, 2007

Miracles do happen and a local woman is proof of that. Her story is not only amazing, but also inspirational.

Gretchen Miller is a miracle woman. She survived not one, but six organ transplants. She wants to share her story in hopes of educating people about her rare illness.

Imagine being a college freshman with your life and dreams ahead of you, only to have life stop in an instant.

Gretchen Miller went from being a healthy young woman to a very sick 30-something. For 14 years, her life was full of pain, medicine and limitations. Doctors told her a six-organ transplant was her only hope of survival.

Not only did she face her grim reality with a sense of humor and smile, but she also allowed the Discovery Channel to document her entire ordeal in hopes of educating others.

Last summer, Gretchen Miller's body was reduced to bones and her organs had shut down.

"Here eyes were green, yellow her skin was green," said Gretchen's mother, Joan Miller.

This 33 year-old woman from Leroy has had her life put on hold for 14 years. Three months into her freshman year of college, Gretchen collapsed in pain. Her intestines were twisted.

"They said if I got there 20 minutes later, I would have died. It would have ruptured and I would have died," said Gretchen.

Her twisted intestines were the first of many near death experiences. To try and fix the problem doctors cut 12 inches off Gretchen's intestine. Instead of getting better, she got sicker and was ultimately diagnosed with a rare disease called Chronic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction. The disease tricks the body into thinking she cannot digest anything. Gretchen never ate again.

"Pain, medicines, staying here. I'd go out but I'd have to take all the nutritional feeding," said Gretchen.

Miller lived like that for 14 years until her organs started to fail. She was sent to Pittsburgh for an organ transplant.

"Then we had to go through all the testing and they found other things wrong and it went from one to five then I was paranoid," said Gretchen.

Doctors had to replace her intestine, stomach, pancreas, duodenum and liver. Her spleen also had to be removed.

After Gretchen missed five opportunities for transplantation, her prayers were answered.

"I was waiting for that. That was the only thing I could do was wait for," said Gretchen.

The Miller family also couldn't help but think about the donor family.

"It's waiting its worrying and you worry about the donor family and what there are losing," said Joan Miller.

The organs came from a donor family in Tennessee. It was a relief and a burden.

"A lot of people don't understand how important it is to get organs to someone who needs them. When someone dies it's like having money in the bank. Someone said to me you can't use it anymore," said Miller.

The high profile case caught the attention of The Discovery Channel. Gretchen allowed cameras to document her every move, even through the grueling 16-hour surgery on June 24.

She said she wanted people to become educated about her rare condition and she was afraid.

"I didn't want to be alone in surgery. It made me feel more comfortable. I don't know why," said Gretchen.

Doctors gave Gretchen a five percent chance at living. They never told her, or her family.

"She was never a difficult child. The illness was difficult. She never felt sorry for herself," said Joan.

Gretchen's surgery was a success despite a few setbacks.

She said she doesn't feel like a miracle, but she is. Not because she survived, but because of how she did it, with grace, dignity and never ending gratitude.

"I couldn't have done it without her. I couldn't have done any of it. I was worried she was going to lose her job because she was gone from work," Gretchen said about her mother.

Gretchen Miller is certainly a woman who has lost precious time, but she never lost her sense of humor.

"She owes me a lot. I owe her a lot. I won't say my whole life. I'm not doing that again."

A fund has been set up to help Gretchen and her family pay for the many medical expenses that came along with the travel needed for this type of care.

If you would like to donate to the Gretchen Miller Transplant Fund, you can send donations to: C/O Five Star Bank, 124 West Main Street, Leroy, NY 14482.

Gretchen Miller's story will be featured on The Discovery Channel. Surgery Saved My Life will air Friday, January 19 at 9:00 p.m. and again at 1:00 a.m.on Saturday.

Copyright © 2003 10NBC.

This article posted February 25, 2007.