Bruce Michael Miller and Heather Platts are partners who live in Twin Falls. Together, they make up the music duo called Crazy Love.
For a long time, Miller suffered from kidney disease, and as his health declined, Platts explored the possibility of giving him her kidney. It turns out, she was a perfect match.
In August of 2019, Platts donated her kidney to Miller, and they wrote an album documenting this journey called The Big Give.
Reporter Rachel Cohen interviewed the pair in their Twin Falls garage studio.
"The Big Give"
HP: The title song is "The Big Give," and that one is actually a duet. It's so vulnerable when you're asking yourself, 'do I have what it takes,' you know, no matter what you're doing in life, those moments where you wonder, 'do I have the ability to do this?'
It actually originated from the National Kidney Foundation website, and they have a campaign called 'The Big Ask; The Big Give: A Conversation To Save a Life.' It's a really big deal, and it's also a really big ask, for someone to say, 'I need this lifesaving kidney.'
"I have this obligation now to to live my life that way for whoever I meet."
BMM: You can get on a kidney waiting list now — if you're healthy enough — you have to go through all these tests and make sure that you are a viable candidate for receiving a transplant. The waiting time can be very long — like five years and in some metropolitan areas, it's longer, like eight. And also, you're waiting, basically, for someone to die, so that you can live. So when we found out about the living donor program, and that Heather was a match, it was felt miraculous and we felt extremely lucky.
I was Stage 5 [Chronic Kidney Disease] or end stage renal failure, so if I hadn't done something about it, and pretty soon, I would have died. So it was not hypothetical.
"Angels in Scrubs"
HP: What's interesting about 'Angels in Scrubs' is that after we wrote it and we were recording it, then of course, COVID hit and we were like, 'wow, this is a really important song right now.'
So many of us over the course of our lives have kind of taken it for granted that these people are going to be there for us. And I just, I'm so glad that we have that song. It feels so good to be able to share that just as a way to say 'thank you.'
"Boomerang"
HP: That's the last song that we wrote, and I really I wanted to sum up that idea that when you give something, you get something back.
BMM: Yeah, I got a kidney; yeah, she gave one, but it's this weird thing: We both gave each other something and we both took something from each other.
HP: By that time, we were at the point in our story where we were kind of past the fear, and the anxiety, and the process and the healing, and we were at that moment where we were like, 'wow, look at how we've changed. Look at how I've changed your life. Look at how you've changed my life. Look how good it feels.'
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
Copyright 2021 Boise State Public Radio
