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Former power lifter uses wellness center to rebuild strength after two liver transplants

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

According to medical experts, only a small minority of patients with liver failure qualify for a liver transplant.

Harold Epperson of Marion not only qualified once, but twice, and underwent two transplants. Needless to say, he is happy to be alive.

Harold and his wife, Kimberly, temporarily reside with his parents, Fred and Bertha Epperson of 145 N. Roosevelt, Marion.

Harold grew up in Wichita. His parents moved to Eastshore in 1983, and later moved to town.

Now 53 years old, Harold followed in his father's footsteps and became a truck driver after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1973-1976.

He drove a feed truck out of Belle Plain, then drove for Love Box Co., Wichita, until 1986.

During those years, he got into body building and began lifting weights religiously.

A friend who owned a fitness center got him involved in competitive power lifting. He competed in a meet for amateurs in Wichita and won first place in bench press. Three months later, he competed in another meet and broke an old record.

Power-lifting became an obsession. His weight soared to 390 pounds, and he was neglecting his wife and two children. His marriage failed.

In 1986, he went to work as a truck driver for Excel Meat Packing Co. in Wichita, delivering meat from west Texas to Ohio and Detroit to New Mexico.

He met Kimberly at Excel, where she worked as a safety clerk. He told her if she wanted to be his girlfriend, she would have to go to trucking school and become a partner with him in over-the-road trucking.

To his surprise, she did just that, and they became a team, traveling 6,000-6,500 miles a week. They were married after a year and a half.

They decided they wanted to make more money and go coast-to-coast. So, they hired on with a big trucking company out of Los Angeles.

"I got my dream truck," Harold said. "It was a beautiful, long-nosed, black Peterbilt."

The couple was based in Amarillo, but they mostly lived in their truck and traveled all over the country, taking a southern route from Los Angeles to destinations such as Florida, Canada, the Pacific Northwest, New York City, and Maine.

In 1995, Harold began to feel sick. His weight dropped to 220 pounds. His skin took on a sickly, yellow color and became very itchy.

Kimberly was concerned. He was not happy, he was not eating right, and he did not feel well.

After six months of not knowing what ailed him, he finally visited his doctor in Amarillo. The doctor immediately knew he had a liver problem. He was sent to a specialist in Dallas who diagnosed him with primary schlerosing cholangitis.

It is a rare liver disease which develops gradually. It is caused by inflammation and eventual scarring and obstruction of the bile ducts. The scarring narrows and eventually blocks the ducts, causing cirrhosis.

According to the Merck Manual of Medical Information, the cause of the disease is unknown but "likely relates to abnormalities in the immune system."

Harold said the disease is hereditary and that he has a cousin with the same problem. Aside from a liver transplant, the disease is fatal.

After being put on medicine and a special diet, he started feeling better and lifting weights. But he still was sick and continued to lose weight. He drove truck sporadically but Kimberly did most of the driving.

In 1997, the Eppersons quit their truck-driving jobs and became house parents at Cal Farley's Boys Ranch at Amarillo. They were in charge of 15 teen-age boys.

Harold said he loved the job. In a spare room, he put together a gym for the boys and worked out with them. They loved him and responded well to his fatherly ways.

While at the ranch, Harold was converted to the Lord, and many boys followed in his footsteps.

In September 2001, Harold began to feel sick again. His bile ducts were shutting off, sending bile into his blood. He went back to Baylor Hospital in Dallas and was put on a list for a liver transplant after undergoing a week of tests.

He said his doctor put him on the list because he had not been a drinker and had done everything he could to stay physically fit and healthy.

The first transplant

In May 2002, Harold received a new liver, taken from a 30-year-old victim of a motorcycle accident.

Complications from the surgery slowed his recovery. He endured a lot of pain. Over a period of three months, his doctors adjusted his medications and removed fluid from his stomach daily.

The workers at the boys ranch raised money to pay for rental of a nearby apartment. They also set up a 24-hour prayer chain.

When Harold went back to the ranch, he was a shadow of his former self, weighing 190 pounds.

"They didn't recognize me," he said.

After three months, his Amarillo doctor encouraged him to do cardio workouts to improve his bodily functions.

He began biking, sometimes going as far as 50 to 100 miles a day. He began gaining weight and his blood pressure went down. Sometimes his boys biked around the ranch with him.

Then he suddenly began experiencing agonizing pain, and almost went into shock. His doctor sedated him and sent him back to Baylor.

Doctors found a perforated small intestine, which allowed it to fill with bile. A valve connecting the intestines to the liver had broken off and was reconnected.

"You're going to need a second transplant," he was told.

At that point, Harold was ready to die. He was put on life support, and his family was brought in. It looked like the end for him. He was 49 years old.

Although he qualified for a second transplant, he didn't really want it. His wife understood, but she said, "I can't live without you. The Lord has something special for you to do."

He was reminded of a story his mother had told him. She said when he was born she lifted him up over her head and gave him to the Lord.

This strengthened his resolve, and for his wife's sake, Harold agreed to accept another transplant.

After a year on strong antibiotics to get rid of any infection in his body, and after suffering immensely from painful neuropathy and swelling in his legs, he received the second transplant in July 2003. The liver came from a 40-year-old school teacher who died from an aneurysm.

Harold came out of the operation feeling depressed and having no faith in the transplant. His weight had dropped to 153 pounds.

He was susceptible to infections. Even his teeth were pulled because of infection. One time, while visiting his parents in Marion, he got sick and ended up back at Baylor Hospital on antibiotics. He was on constant pain medication.

The turning point

Then came a turning point in his recovery. Harold had a good liver and could once again be healthy, but he was weak on his legs and tired of the struggle.

He had been on painkillers for so long that he had become addicted to them. He was afraid to quit taking them, and the medication was beginning to affect his mind. He was becoming a zombie.

Kimberly had been with him every step of the way and had offered constant encouragement. She saw what the strong medication was doing to him.

One day, she said, "You've got to get off those drugs, you are killing yourself."

At that moment, he said, he had a rebirth. His eyes were opened and he looked at himself and saw what was happening. He agreed to get off the drugs.

They emptied all the bottles of pills into a big pile, crushed them, and put them into the trash.

Harold kept a few pain pills as a crutch but began to realize the pain was more in his mind than a reality. He gradually started to eat more, and his health returned. He drank a lot of protein shakes and worked at eating well.

This past summer, in July, he began working out again. In September, the couple moved to Marion.

Kimberly works as a customer service manager at Newton Wal-Mart.

Harold has a membership at Marion Wellness Center. He works out four days a week, lifting free weights for one and a half to two hours each time. His weight is back up to 240 pounds.

"This is a great gym," he said. "I've never been in a little town that has such a great facility."

He noted it has several new machines and is available 24 hours a day.

He drinks 100 ounces of water and 60 ounces of Gatorade during his workouts.

He has a lot less pain but remains susceptible to infection. He spent 10 days in the hospital in December, fighting an infection in one leg.

Now, he's back on his regular work-out schedule.

"I dedicate every workout to the Lord," he said. "I want to be an inspiration to other people who are on pain killers and medicine.

"This has been a humbling experience. I put every day in the Lord's hands."

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