An alumna’s inspired meeting leads to a life-altering kidney donation.
“I just felt electricity go through me,” Kristine Applegate Miller (MSW ’03) says of a chance encounter on Y Mountain.
It was September 2023, and Miller had set an ambitious goal to hike to the Y above Provo three times each week. In her heart she held a desire to someday become a kidney donor. The idea had first come to her the previous fall, when Miller saw a Facebook post about someone who needed a kidney. Miller looked into the possibility of donating, but she learned she was then ineligible. Even so, she says, “I just kept getting those persistent thoughts [about donation].”
The day of that hike to the Y, Miller had prayed, asking if a kidney donation would be part of her future. As she hiked up the winding trail, she passed a couple slowly making their way toward the Y. On Miller’s way back down, she stopped to meet them: Shiller Joseph and his wife, Rhona. Joseph explained that he was hiking the Y to get in better shape so he could become eligible to receive a needed kidney transplant. Miller was floored—meeting Joseph was a direct answer to her prayer.
“On the way down, we also found out that we were O-positive blood, which isn’t a full match, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Miller says. The hikers exchanged contact information, and Miller once again began looking into kidney donation. Not knowing whether she’d be an eligible donor candidate or a match for Joseph, Miller set up an appointment to meet with her doctor. Joseph, inspired by meeting Miller, redoubled his efforts to prepare physically for a kidney transplant.
Following a months-long process, they were shocked to learn that not only was Miller an eligible donor, she and Joseph matched in the 90th percentile—almost a sibling-level match. The donation occurred in April 2024. Both recovered well, and Joseph is now healthier and enjoying life.
Reflecting on the experience, Miller is grateful God could use her to serve Joseph. “God wasn’t dependent on me to save Shiller’s life. He can do that. He’s perfect. He’s all-powerful,” she says. “But I think He gave me an opportunity to love and serve.”
