Watch CBS News

Wife Is Donating Kidney To Husband

Eva Zymaris, Joseph Wenzel IV

HARTFORD, Conn. (CNN) — A Connecticut woman is donating a kidney to her husband.

Jeff Miller desperately needs a kidney.

"It's been a really big struggle for the last 28 years, but we've made," Nicky Miller, who is donating kidney to husband, said. "Don't know how, don't know why. But, we've made it!"

When Nicky Miller was just a freshman in high school, she met the man who would one day be her husband.

Nicky and Jeff Miller went to prom together, got married, and have three children -- Christopher, Ryan, and Heather. All three children are now all grown up.

But, Jeff Miller has started missing out on some of life's most important moments.

"Just looking at him, you look perfectly normal," Nicky Miller said. "But, really, you're dying on the inside."

Teen Boy Needs Kidney Transplant Due To Cancer Side-Effect Treatments

Jeff Miller has end stage kidney failure and has only 7 percent kidney function.

He's had multiple surgeries, has been doing dialysis every night for two years and spends a lot of time at the doctor's office.

"It's one thing to provide for your family for so long, and then it's hard when you're not able to," Jeff Miller said.

He could have waited years for a transplant. On Father's Day, Nicky Miller and their family surprised him with breakfast. There was a can of beans and a card telling him, Nicky Miller was going to donate one her kidneys.

"To see that, it was a good feeling," Jeff Miller said. "I'm very grateful and blessed that Nicky decided to do it, as much as I didn't want her to."

They'll be doing the surgery at Hartford Hospital.

"They say once he gets the kidney and it's up and running, he'll feel 1,010 percent better," Nicky Miller said.

Local HS Golf Team Beating The Odds In Life

Then, Jeff Miller will be able to play with their 7-year-old grandson, go fishing, return to work and walk his daughter down the aisle.

Nicky Miller said you give all that you can to the people you love.

"It's self-sacrifice without worrying about the repercussions of it," Nicky Miller said. "If it were my friend over there, I'd do it for her too!"

Nicky and Jeff Miller said they are hoping to have their surgeries in the next month or so. They said they're looking forward to the start of their new life, together.

Their surgeries will leave them both out of work for several months, so their daughter has set up a GoFundMe Page to help them out.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.