IBA SUCCESS MAGAZINE Volume 6 Campaign 1 | Page 16

HEALTH & WELLNESS n ORGAN DONATION
NORRIS
McMILLER
THE MIRACLE
By Laura Dorsey
A
ccording to Iron Man, “Heroes are
made by the path they choose,
not the powers they are graced
with”. Norris McMiller is a
modern-day hero, with his brand of Super-
power—Intelligence—which is a privilege
and needs to be used for the greater
good of people. As a motivational speak-
er, he grasps that his path should inspire
others to dream, learn and do more and
his Superpower represents hope, oppor-
tunity, and strength. I sat down to gain
insight into Norris’s Superpower. From
his hospital bed, Norris schooled me on
organ transplants, health, wellness, and
drug addiction. We covered so much,
that this one article will turn into a series.
So, here is part one of the series: Organ
Transplant.
Norris is not one to feel sorry for himself or
his situation. He will tell you that some of
his adversities were self-inflicted, but that
is for another article. Norris’s legacy, as
an overcomer, is that he has learned and
benefited from the mistakes of his past.
His message is clear: mistakes changed
him but sharing his pain and mistakes
might help to heal someone else. Com-
munication is not just what you know, but
more about how you feel about what you
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IBA Success Magazine
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VOL 6, Issue 1
Norris joined the United States Army at
the age of 17 as a combat medic. While
he was in the military, the discovery that
his heart was not functioning correctly be-
came apparent. In 2014, a machine took
the place of his heart. After the surgery,
he was in a coma for 25 days. The multi-
ple constant complications turned into
pneumonia. His wife, of only three weeks,
Patty, was by his side every day. When he
woke from the coma, he would not talk!
He could not walk! As he began the re-
covery process, he recognized that things
that he took for granted were no longer
on the table. What is health? He realized
more at that time than at any other time,
that health is wealth. He was on a heart
transplant list and no amount of money
was going to buy him a new heart. Only a
miracle was going to do that, and he was
hoping that he would not run out of time,
because time was also something that
money could not buy.
Time was not the only factor for Norris and
Patty, the numbers were also overwhelm-
ing. About 113,000 men, women, and
children are on the national transplant
list, and every 10 minutes another person
is added. Each year about 36,538 trans-
plants are performed but each day, 20
people die waiting for a transplant. In Rich-
mond, Virginia, the United Network for
Organ Sharing (Norris and Patty are now
Ambassadors) is the private, non-profit
organization that manages the nation’s or-
gan transplant system under contract with
the federal government. Their coordinat-
ed collaborations help make life-saving
organ transplants possible each day and
serves as the model for transplant systems
around the world.
For Norris and Patty, their prayers were
answered, but the tradeoff for this ex-
tension of life is that another veteran’s
life was over. He and Patty were flown to
Richmond, VA for the 14-hour surgery.
This time, two days later, he was recover-
ing with the new heart replacing the ma-
chine that had been in his chest for all that
time. During each of the surgeries, Patty
was supported by the Fisher House. The
foundation builds comfort homes where
military and veteran families can stay free
of charge, while a loved one is in the hos-
pital. This program has saved families an
estimated $451 million in out-of-pocket
costs for lodging and transportation.
When asked what he wants to gain by tell-
ing his story, Norris dreams that if you ever
see the word, Organ Donor, you will not
hesitate to check the box to change some-
one’s life. He believes that the measure of
life, after all, is not its duration, but its do-
nation. What a privilege to be here on the
planet to contribute your unique donation
to humankind. As you can guess, this is
not the end of the story for this miracle
man. n
know. Norris dreams that when he speaks,
not only can his audience visualize his
presentation but more importantly, they
will remember his message and his
Superpower.