Jody Miller: ‘I Cry A Lot … I Miss Her So Much’

Heather Miller was a classic, all-American kid who loved softball, singing her daddy’s favorite songs, crowded family picnics, and she adored her momma, too.

She was loud, she was fun, there was nothing she wouldn’t try, and she volunteered, even roofed with her father, and she knew as a teenager her life’s mission would involve caring for other people.  

“Heather was my best friend,” said her mother, Jody. “And when she would come home from college, she wanted to be with her family.

“What 20-something-year-old young person comes home from college and wants to hang out with their uncle or their parents and family? But that was Heather. There was something very special about her.”

Heather Miller was a few weeks away from being graduated WVU’s nursing school when she passed away in March 2008 after suffering extensive injuries as a passenger in an alcohol-related car crash. She was resuscitated on the way to the Ohio Valley Medical Center, and that’s where the family begged fate for a miracle.

Heather was only 21 years old when she died a week later, but she was an organ donor and she saved lives. In fact, Heather’s story is featured in the first episode of a five-part docuseries titled “Gifted” that debuted on March 15^th at Wheeling Park High’s JB Chambers Performing Arts Center.

The Miller family has celebrated Heather at the end of July every year since, and the Heather Miller Memorial Golf Classic has raised thousands of dollars for hundreds of nursing scholarships at WVU. This year’s event is scheduled for July 26^th at Oglebay’s Crispin Course, and golfers and sponsors are always needed, thank you very much.

“I get asked why I choose to relive it; why I keep telling Heather’s story. I think more than anything, as a mom, I think her story needs to be told because I don’t want this to happen to any other family; to another mom or dad or sister or brother,” Miller explained. “If telling her story means someone else won’t feel this loss so deep down, then good. That’s why I tell it over and over.

“I cry a lot because I miss Heather so much,” she said. “I don’t want the crash to define Heather, but rather the fact she was an organ donor. That’s what I want people to learn when they watch the documentary. I want people to realize her impact. I want them to get the point.”

Heroes Save Lives

She had job interviews scheduled, and that meant she soon would trade a student’s life in Morgantown for adulting her way into a full-blown professional nurse.

Life was about to get real, so Heather wanted to have some fun when she returned to Wheeling for her final college spring break.

“She told us she just wanted to go out with friends and have some fun and that she had a designated driver, and she was going to stay the night with some friends,” Miller recalled. “It wasn’t the first time, and she was always careful. We talked about those things.

“And then the doorbell rang at 12:30 a.m. and I thought it was her because she decided to come home and she forgot her key,” she mumbled with tears. “But then I saw the two deputy sheriffs at the door.”

The crash took place at the intersection of Park View Lane and National Road close to the Springdale area of Wheeling, and the scene was saturated with the flashing lights of tragedy.

“At that moment, our lives changed forever,” she said. “Heather was in a rollover crash and the authorities said the vehicle was going about 78 (mph) in a 25 miles-per-hour zone. She was partially ejected out of the window and she was pinned with the car on top of her.

“They told us we needed to go to the Ohio Valley Medical Center as soon as possible, and when we got there, they told us they had to bring her back on the way there.”

The Millers are attending the annual Transplant Games this week in Birmingham, Ala., where donors and recipients compete in the two divisions in events like golf, swimming, ballroom dancing, and even darts. Robert Horsey, the author of “Gifted” and the creator of the related docuseries, is there, too, as he continues to produce the remaining chapters for the film.

Jody will, of course, tell Heather’s story as many times as necessary while in Alabama just as she and her family did for Horsey’s docuseries.

“When Robert first asked us about doing the documentary, we were reluctant at first, but we also believe it’s important to tell people about Heather and how she’s helped so many others so we can spread the word about organ donation. Some people are still against it, and they have their reasons, but we know the positives that come from donating,” Miller said. “We’ve realized the importance because of Heather’s decision to be a donor. We’ve witnessed the blessings.

“So, we agreed to the documentary. We agreed to tell Heather’s story to a much broader audience so her impact could grow even more,” the mourning mother added. “It was tough. I know our kids were reluctant. But they talked because it was about their sister, what she was like, how she lived, and what they miss the most.”

She paused, and then said, “And it’s about all the miracles that have followed.”