Melanie and Steve Miller never expected to have a Sunday morning like the one in October 2022. While getting ready for church one morning, Steve started acting strangely and lost control of his movements. Within minutes, Steve collapsed and began to have a severe seizure. Melanie, a former registered nurse, worked quickly, recognizing the symptoms as an aneurysm, and turned him on his side to free up his airways. To her horror, Steve stopped breathing. Melanie had no choice but to call 911.
Two air flights and three hospitals later, Steve was transported to AdventHealth Orlando's Emergency Department. A team of nurses and physicians, including Dr. Parikh worked to stabilize Steve's condition before taking him into surgery. “It was crazy. Every day they gave us a different nurse and a different skill set. They were amazing. Our doctors were fantastic. He did the unthinkable and came off the ventilator — most people are not able to breathe.”
The Miller's journey was not over yet. While Dr. Ravi Gandhi was performing brain surgery, Steve's aneurysm ruptured in front of his eyes, and he clipped it just in time to save his life. The day after his surgery, an angiogram showed a large, abnormally shaped aneurysm, and a CT scan showed evidence of three strokes.
Melanie, through prayer and the support of her community, believed in her heart that Steve would heal. She told everyone, “my husband is going to be normal after this. He is going to heal. God spoke to me”.
The next day, the Millers received a call from Dr. Gandhi, "I don’t know how to tell you this except to just tell you. His aneurysm is gone. It was clipped, but it’s gone. And there’s another thing, Melanie, the strokes are on the CT, but they aren’t showing there anymore—it’s clear.”
What would normally be a 27-day recovery would take Steve only 17 days before he left our doors. Melanie and Steve credit this miraculous healing journey to God’s intervention through the AdventHealth team.
We're so thankful to our dedicated clinicians, including Dr. Parikh, Dr. Gandhi, and the entire care team, who supported them incredibly.
AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida wants to provide grateful patients and families in Central Florida with the opportunity to thank their caregivers this Doctor’s Day on March 30. You can make a meaningful gift here in honor of caregivers that made a significant impact in your life or learn more about other ways to say thank you.
