Two Chicago Marathon runners connected by one transplanted heart
Shae Brown
A stethoscope lay on the bed upstairs in case someone asked  Shae Brown  to listen to  her  triumphant heartbeat.
 Shae  placed the medical instrument there  anticipating an opportunity to share the joyous sound with new friends. The Millers from Glencoe had traveled to Shiner  Texas â a small town of 2 069 people in the southeast part of the state â to meet  Shae   whose heart once pumped inside their beloved daughter and sister.  Shae 's successful heart transplant occurred May 20  2013  in Houston after  her  donor  Alyssa Miller  died at 24 after a long illness  leaving behind a twin sister  Eva  and parents Fred and Barbara.
On the second day of the Millers' visit to Texas  Fred's daughter  Eva  worked up the nerve to ask  Shae  something she expected.
"Eva said  'This is probably a really strange question  but is there any way we could listen to Alyssa's heart beating inside of you?'" recalled  Shae   49  a dental hygienist. "I said  'That's not a strange question  and yes  you can.' So I went up the stairs and got my stethoscope."
Eva pressed the device against  Shae 's chest and listened  emotionally. Then Barbara leaned in close and heard the beating that once had provided the rhythm for so much joy in her life. When it was Fred's turn  he wanted to hear  too  but hesitated. A father still struggling to cope found the timing too soon  the pain surprisingly fresh.
 Shae Brown 's successful heart transplant occurred May 20  2013  in Houston after  her  donor  Alyssa Miller  passed away at the age of 24 following a long illness. (Jay Janner / Austin American Statesman / Chicago Tribune)  Shae Brown 's successful heart transplant occurred May 20  2013  in Houston after  her  donor  Alyssa Miller  passed away at the age of 24 following a long illness. (Jay Janner / Austin American Statesman / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS
"I think I was more shocked by my own reaction that day than I was that Eva brought it up to  Shae  " said Fred  62  a psychiatrist for NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston. "But  no  I just â¦ couldn't do it. I couldn't listen. It's a very surreal experience knowing that there is a part of my daughter that is still here. To be clear  this is Shae's heart. This is Shae's life. We get that and don't want to put any burdens on her. We want her to be herself. That said  it is kind of a weird thing."
Medical professionals encourage heart-transplant recipients to wait a minimum of one year to contact the donor's family  and  Shae  was counting the days. But as the anniversary arrived  reality hit her.
"I was like  'You can't write that letter now  on the one-year mark  when it's going to be all new and fresh to them '"  Shae  said. "I couldn't have them relive that. So I clammed up."
Another year of doubt and curiosity passed until  Shae  received some good advice: Instead of sending what amounts to a thank-you card  tell the Millers her story â and what an inspiring one it was.
At 16  doctors diagnosed  Shae  with rhabdomyosarcoma â a cancer of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles. At Stage 4  the scared teenager faced long odds of survival.  Shae  recalled one doctor giving her three months. The chemotherapy drug  doxorubicin  damaged Shae's heart  but her cancer required the most aggressive treatment possible to stop the tumors from spreading.
 Fred Miller Heart transplant recipient Shae Brown  of Texas  with Fred Miller  from Glencoe . Miller's daughter Alyssa was  Brown 's heart donor. Heart transplant recipient Shae Brown  of Texas  with Fred Miller  from Glencoe. Miller's daughter Alyssa was Brown's heart donor. (Fred Miller) (Fred Miller)
One Sunday  hours after  Shae  remembers the local pastor visiting  nurses noticed a difference in the color of fluid in the bag connected to her catheter. Shae's abdomen softened. Unbelievably  her prognosis changed by the time she went to bed.
"I'll never forget my doctor saying before he walked out of my room that night  'It looks like the man above is doing some work here '"  Shae  said. "They were shocked my tumor started shrinking. Most people who had that kind of cancer didn't make it  but here I am."
There she was  almost a lifetime later  hitting the highlights of her incredible journey in a letter to the Miller family she desperately wanted to meet.  Shae  included how the chemo drug weakened her heart enough to need a pacemaker installed at the age of 35. How in 2012  at 43 years old   Shae  was placed on a transplant list  where  she  remained for 14 months of uncertainty. How after the transplant  doctors told  Shae  her heart had been functioning at 1 percent of  its  capacity.
"I didn't realize how close to death I was "  Shae  said. "I learned at 16 you don't take life for granted. You're never guaranteed tomorrow. Each day since then I've lived with an extreme thankfulness that you get to wake up every day."
A stethoscope lay on the bed upstairs in case someone asked   [TGT] to listen to   [TGT]   triumphant heartbeat.
 Shae  placed the medical instrument there  anticipating an opportunity to share the joyous sound with new friends. The Millers from Glencoe had traveled to Shiner  Texas â a small town of 2 069 people in the southeast part of the state â to meet  Shae   whose heart once pumped inside their beloved daughter and sister.  Shae 's successful heart transplant occurred May 20  2013  in Houston after  her  donor  Alyssa Miller  died at 24 after a long illness  leaving behind a twin sister  Eva  and parents Fred and Barbara.
On the second day of the Millers' visit to Texas  Fred's daughter  Eva  worked up the nerve to ask  Shae  something she expected.
"Eva said  'This is probably a really strange question  but is there any way we could listen to Alyssa's heart beating inside of you?'" recalled  Shae   49  a dental hygienist. "I said  'That's not a strange question  and yes  you can.' So I went up the stairs and got my stethoscope."
Eva pressed the device against  Shae 's chest and listened  emotionally. Then Barbara leaned in close and heard the beating that once had provided the rhythm for so much joy in her life. When it was Fred's turn  he wanted to hear  too  but hesitated. A father still struggling to cope found the timing too soon  the pain surprisingly fresh.
  [TGT]  's successful heart transplant occurred May 20  2013  in Houston after   [TGT]   donor  Alyssa Miller  passed away at the age of 24 following a long illness. (Jay Janner / Austin American Statesman / Chicago Tribune)   [TGT]  's successful heart transplant occurred May 20  2013  in Houston after   [TGT]   donor  Alyssa Miller  passed away at the age of 24 following a long illness. (Jay Janner / Austin American Statesman / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS
"I think I was more shocked by my own reaction that day than I was that Eva brought it up to  Shae  " said Fred  62  a psychiatrist for NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston. "But  no  I just â¦ couldn't do it. I couldn't listen. It's a very surreal experience knowing that there is a part of my daughter that is still here. To be clear  this is Shae's heart. This is Shae's life. We get that and don't want to put any burdens on her. We want her to be herself. That said  it is kind of a weird thing."
Medical professionals encourage heart-transplant recipients to wait a minimum of one year to contact the donor's family  and  Shae  was counting the days. But as the anniversary arrived  reality hit her.
"I was like  'You can't write that letter now  on the one-year mark  when it's going to be all new and fresh to them '"  Shae  said. "I couldn't have them relive that. So I clammed up."
Another year of doubt and curiosity passed until  Shae  received some good advice: Instead of sending what amounts to a thank-you card  tell the Millers her story â and what an inspiring one it was.
At 16  doctors diagnosed  Shae  with rhabdomyosarcoma â a cancer of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles. At Stage 4  the scared teenager faced long odds of survival.  Shae  recalled one doctor giving her three months. The chemotherapy drug  doxorubicin  damaged Shae's heart  but her cancer required the most aggressive treatment possible to stop the tumors from spreading.
 Fred Miller Heart transplant recipient Shae Brown  of Texas  with Fred Miller  from Glencoe . Miller's daughter Alyssa was  Brown 's heart donor. Heart transplant recipient Shae Brown  of Texas  with Fred Miller  from Glencoe. Miller's daughter Alyssa was Brown's heart donor. (Fred Miller) (Fred Miller)
One Sunday  hours after  Shae  remembers the local pastor visiting  nurses noticed a difference in the color of fluid in the bag connected to her catheter. Shae's abdomen softened. Unbelievably  her prognosis changed by the time she went to bed.
"I'll never forget my doctor saying before he walked out of my room that night  'It looks like the man above is doing some work here '"  Shae  said. "They were shocked my tumor started shrinking. Most people who had that kind of cancer didn't make it  but here I am."
There she was  almost a lifetime later  hitting the highlights of her incredible journey in a letter to the Miller family she desperately wanted to meet.  Shae  included how the chemo drug weakened her heart enough to need a pacemaker installed at the age of 35. How in 2012  at 43 years old   Shae  was placed on a transplant list  where  she  remained for 14 months of uncertainty. How after the transplant  doctors told  Shae  her heart had been functioning at 1 percent of  its  capacity.
"I didn't realize how close to death I was "  Shae  said. "I learned at 16 you don't take life for granted. You're never guaranteed tomorrow. Each day since then I've lived with an extreme thankfulness that you get to wake up every day."