On April 2, 2024, Shiller Joseph, left, and Krissy Miller, right, underwent a kidney transplant surgery at Intermountain Health Medical Center in Murray. Miller agreed to be a donor after the two met on Y Mountain.
A day in the outdoors brought two strangers together and led to a life-saving procedure.
The pair reunited Monday at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, where they both underwent kidney transplant surgery earlier this year.
On Sept. 14, 2023, Krissy Miller of Provo crossed paths with Shiller Joseph on the trail while hiking "Y Mountain" in Provo.
"I actually saw Shiller and his wife, and I was going to say something to him. But if you've ever hiked the Y, it's hard to talk when you're going uphill," Miller explained during a press conference.
As fate would have it, they passed each other again coming down the mountain.
Miller, 49, a mother of four and hiker, and Joseph, a pastor who recently moved to Utah from Florida to start a ministry along with his wife, Rhona, struck up a conversation, initially with Miller asking about the sports jersey he was wearing.
"But then I asked a question that I don't ask all the time: What are some of the things he likes about Utah," Miller told an assembled crowd of doctors, medical staff and reporters.
Joseph explained that he suffers from lupus and he was on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.
Ironically, Miller was already seeking an opportunity to become a kidney donor.
It was something she wanted to do after coming across a Facebook post in 2022 about a father in need of a transplant. She went through the screening process to donate but did not meet the health criteria at the time.
Miller put the thought of donating out of her mind but decided to start hiking Y Mountain three times a week. After losing 37 pounds and feeling healthier than ever, the desire of donating a kidney resurfaced, she said.
With the chance meeting of Joseph in a random conversation while hiking, learning of his situation and that they were of the same blood type, she felt compelled to help and offered to donate her kidney.
"As I sat there and thought, 'Well, if I'm going to try this process again and give it to anyone, why not the person right in front of me?" Miller said.
Joseph was humbled by her offer and said, "Whatever God tells you."
But Miller didn't want to get his hopes up, considering her previous attempt to donate.
The two exchanged information and kept in touch, forming a friendship between both families.
In March, Miller went through another series of tests with the Intermountain Health transplant coordinator and learned she was a good match.
Joseph received the news in the form of some homemade rolls from Miller and a sign that said, "I kid you not! Let's get this surgery, 'roll'-ing! You're getting a kidney!"
In April, Miller and Joseph underwent successful surgeries at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.
Joseph, a former paramedic who was on dialysis for three years and on the kidney donation waiting list for a year, says had he stayed in his home state of Florida, he would have had to wait at least eight years before receiving a new kidney. Intermountain Health's transplant program has one of the shortest wait times in the country. In fact, a kidney transplant is performed at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray every 32 hours.
"Telling donors and recipients they are a match is the best part of my job," said Meleta Egbert, Intermountain Health transplant coordinator, during Monday's press conference. "Seeing how Krissy, a total stranger, was willing to change Shiller's life was just heartwarming, beautiful and actually surprisingly not that unusual here in Utah and for the Intermountain Health transplant program."
Joseph said he was diagnosed with lupus when he was younger, but his condition worsened in 2020, when he said he was "A Snickers bar away from being obese."
After three years on kidney dialysis and a year on the donor waiting list, he got his new kidney this past April.
"We may look different, but we're all the same on the inside," said Joseph, who now refers to Miller as his sister and angel.
At the press conference, Joseph thanked the medical team for being attentive and helpful every step of the way. He also expressed gratitude for Miller's husband's for supporting her in wanting to donate her kidney.
Joseph said amid his own reservations about the procedure, he believes, ultimately, it was fate that brought the two together on the Provo mountain that September day.
"But it's like God reminded me, 'Just in case you forget, you know, I'm going give you somebody who's the same age as your sister, matches you like a sibling -- saliva and all, blood and all," he said.
Joseph still struggles in knowing there are many others waiting for their day to receive a kidney transplant. "I know about 15 friends who are just praying and hoping," he said.
According to Intermountain Health, over 90,000 people across the country are waiting for a kidney transplant, and living kidney donors can offer them a second chance at life.
"The gift of life that comes from a living donor transplant can provide a shorter wait time, reduce the risk of complications and offer a better chance for long-term success for the person who receives your kidney," said Dr. Donald Morris, Intermountain Health kidney transplant medical director, in the release.
Since 1983, Intermountain Health says its surgeons have performed more than 3,600 kidney transplants.
Miller said the opportunity to be a kidney donor and help save a life was the answer to one of her prayers.
"I call it Shiller's Miracle and I just got to be in the front row for the whole thing, which was a fun place to be," Miller said.