Mark Miller
April 14th, 2008
I am in my 40th year of teaching World History and coaching varsity football and softball at Linden High School in Linden, Ca. I suffered a heart attack after softball practice in January of 2003. I was taken by ambulance to St Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, Ca where a stent was put in my heart. I was then put in the ICU where a nurse weighed me at 390 lbs. Two mornings later I had a major heart attack. The responding nurses saved my life.
I was told to change my lifestyle or die. Over the next 8 months, I had 3 more stents, failed four cardiolite stress tests, and through diet and exercise, lost 190 lbs. In August I was told I needed open heart surgery. I told the doctor that we were a week into football and that the timing was not convenient. He laughed and said “Coach, actually the timing is perfect, without surgery, you are out of time.”
I had a triple bypass surgery on August 26th and was back on the field coaching 7 days later.
The hospital put me on billboard in the Stockton, Lodi, Modesto, Manteca, Tracy and Escalon communities as part of their ‘Miracles Happen’ campaign. My waist has gone from a size 46 to a 32, my shirt size form a XXXL to a L. I now run 2-3 miles plus walk 10,000 steps each day.
I spoke in Washington D.C. in 2006 and 2007 in behalf of the American Heart Association. One of my nurses in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit was awarded the Mended Hearts Inc Helen Shuman Endowment Award in 2006 for her efforts in my recovery. Only two nurses in the U.S. received that award.
In 2005 I was named the California State High School Softball ‘Coach of the Year’ as my team went 26-4 and was the CIF Division IV State champions, and in 2005, we went 29-0.
My two granddaughters have since been born. I visit heart patients through Mended Hearts Inc, every Saturday morning at St Joseph’s Medical Center.
Life is good. I experienced a Miracle. My healthcare team rocked my world. When I was discharged from the hospital, I was given a heart shaped pillow to get signatures. I have 58 signatures on it. I have coached a lot of teams, but no team displayed the teamwork I experienced at the hospital.
One Response to “ Mark Miller ”
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April 22nd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
this story truly will inspire those who read it. thank you for writing this story for everyone to read. you are a true inspiration for those of us in healthcare. keep up the good work, and thank you for all your hard work volunteering at St. Joeseph’s.