GRAND LEDGE, Mich. (NewsNation Now) — A woman in Grand Ledge, Michigan has a message for you this Thanksgiving: Give thanks and sign up to be an organ donor.

Two years ago, a healthy and active Rachel Kuntzsch, 44, suddenly felt off. She was having trouble breathing at night and thought she might be coming down with a cold.

A few days later she learned it was heart failure. Just over a week later, doctors in Ann Arbor told her she couldn’t survive without a life-saving operation.

Kuntzsch describes what happened next as a “Thanksgiving miracle.”

Watch the video in the embedded player.

NewsNation affiliate WLNS contributed to this report.