War Veteran Donates Kidney To Dallas Man

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Sam Miller doesn't mince words. "We were sailing down a slow boat to hell," says Miller. A rare kidney disorder left the Dallas man facing a near certain death if a donor couldn't be found.

The stress was also taking a toll on his wife and children. "I knew I needed to find family," he recalls, "or so I thought."

Miller only learned that he was adopted after becoming ill. And while he says he and his wife had strong faith, he also began getting his affairs in order. An insurance flier led to lunch with State Farm agent Linda Horton. So Horton was aware of his situation when a job applicant began sharing his bucket list with her: and she couldn't believe her ears. The man felt called to be a donor.

"We just started talking and I said 'you're not going to believe this—but, I have a client who actually has a really rare blood type and needs a kidney."

Talk about a good neighbor. You see, Adrian Serrano just happened to be an Iraq war veteran who nearly a decade earlier made a battlefield deal with God.

"I remember saying, 'God, if you get us all out of this, I'll live for you," says Serrano. He says he was reminded of the promise during a vivid dream a couple of years ago. "I was really trying to find something else out there—something else deeper than myself. I have to give, I have to give life to someone."

And Serrano's kidney gave new life to a man who had once been a total stranger.

"All of a sudden, I was alive again," says Miller. And then after a pause that spoke volumes, "And what do you say???"

Serrano's kidney, by the way, was a near perfect match. Both men are recovering well from the February surgery.

"He gave me back my life, and he gave my wife back her husband, and my children their Dad," says Miller. "And he gave my family their crazy Uncle Sam…there are no words."

It would seem to be a series of coincidences—the randomness of good fortune. But, all three involved in the match making insist that there was nothing random about it.

"Nothing but God," says Serrano. "God really orchestrated this from Day 1."

"We don't know where this leads," says Miller, "but, what a beautiful testimony and sacrifice for, really, a stranger."

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