Texas Equusearch Founder Tim Miller is out of the hospital, sharing his story
HOUSTON - We are happy to announce Texas Equusearch Founder Tim Miller is out of the hospital. After spending nearly a week there, Miller was released to go home Friday.
"Do you see my arms? With all the blood thinners and everything, I mean you just barely have to bump yourself," Miller says while showing bruising on his arms.
But he isn’t complaining about the bruises after the week he’s had.
"They went in my heart first and then put stents in my heart and gave that a couple days to build some strength up, and then got into my neck and shoulder, and opened these arteries up so blood was flowing," Miller explains.
Before being admitted to the hospital two Saturday’s ago, Miller was becoming light-headed.
"The blood was actually going down and the arteries were shrunk so bad the blood would go backwards and go into my brain and I’d literally have these dizzy spells and I’d be looking at something and I’d see seven or eight of these things."
Heart problems run in the 74-year-old’s family and he says his lifestyle didn’t help.
"There was a time that I certainly had a drinking problem with alcohol and I’ll never ever, ever forget that night when I said ‘God if you’re real, please take this desire of alcohol away’ and it’s been many, many, many years since I’ve had a desire for a teaspoon of alcohol."
Miller now has that same feeling of freedom from nicotine.
"Nobody will ever see a cigarette in my mouth again."
To know Tim Miller is to know he’s sharing his testimony to help others. Just as he did more than 20 years ago when he created Equusearch, a remarkable non-profit organization that has searched for the missing in 42 states and 11 countries.
"Aruba, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Canada," Miller rattles off while trying to remember all of the locations and he adds. "I almost got kidnapped in Nicaragua over the Natalie Holloway case. So we’ve been in some frightful, scary situations before."
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Equusearch is an amazing tribute to his daughter, Laura, who was just 16-years-old when she was murdered.
"Equusearch has been such a healing, and I get a little choked up when I say it’s been such a healing process for me after Laura’s disappearance and Laura’s death. I don’t see how families out there, that go through this, can get through it on their own."
Laura was one of four young ladies killed in the 1980’s in what became known as The Killing Fields.
"I've got to admit that I still struggle that we’ve not gotten an arrest on Laura’s death yet and the other girls out there."
Their bodies were discovered in fields along I-45 between Houston and Galveston.
"I’m going to tell you something I've been to many funerals of parents that have died way before their time of literally a broken heart, suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction and I look back and I say I’m so very blessed."
After all this still grieving dad has been through, he was ready to give up in the hospital last week.
"It’s just one of those things when you say I’m too tired to do this anymore. It’s just time. We’re ran our course," says Miller.
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That is until your prayers and well-wishes started pouring in.
"The stuff that was coming out on Facebook, it was like I guess I’m not as tired as I thought. We’ve got to keep going."
And remember those bruises on his arms?
"You know what? As long as I’m seeing all of this stuff (bruising), it's like the blood’s flowing and I’m alive. As long as I’m alive, I have an opportunity to get better. So I’m glad these are here," Miller smiles.