With few hobbies and a passion for his work in the concrete business, Okarche native Philip Schwarz hasn’t taken many days off...until recently.

He hasn’t retired and it wasn’t his choice to temporarily step away from his 48-year position as president of the family business, Schwarz Ready Mix.

In October 2018, Schwarz said he started feeling bad and often felt like he would pass out. A trip to the emergency room in Yukon led to 46 consecutive days in OU Medical Center.

During the first week, Schwarz said, they ran all kinds of tests and couldn’t determine what was wrong.

“They even called me the ‘mystery man:” he said.

Finally the diagnosis came.

A latent Epstein-Barr virus in Schwarz’s body had become active after a recent infection and was destroying his kidneys and damaging his liver.

Trying to save his kidneys, the doctors administered a very expensive medication three different times, but it wasn’t enough, Schwarz said.

A kidney transplant would be needed, as well as a new liver.

With the kidneys no longer functioning, Schwarz said he began hemodialysis, which would act as a substitute to remove waste products from his body until an organ transplant could be found.

He was released from the hospital in November 2018 and would begin the lengthy process of getting on the transplant waiting list

“From January to June I had to undergo numerous tests, but was officially placed on the list in June,” Schwarz said.

While waiting for a transplant, Schwarz continued hemodialysis for about three months, which he described as, “not fun, by the way.”

After hearing about peritoneal dialysis he decided to give it a try, he said.

Peritoneal dialysis performs the same function of removing toxins from the body, but can be done by the patient at home overnight.

A port is placed into the abdomen, Schwarz said, and the dialysis process must be done every night. The patient attaches tubing from a machine to the port and a cleansing solution is pumped into the abdominal cavity The solution remains in the abdomen for a set period of time drawing out toxins, which are then pumped out of the body. This process occurs several times during the overnight hours.

It was a better alternative than four-and-a-half hours of hemodialysis several days a week, which were physically draining, Schwarz said.

“Even though the peritoneal dialysis often caused intense cramping, it was a lot easier for me,” he said.

“You just get up in the morning, unhook and go to work...it didn’t tie up your whole day.”

It would take a year and one month before he got the call he had been waiting for.

Ona Friday, Schwarz said, the doctor called with the news that they had a kidney and liver, but they wanted to discuss an issue with him.

Schwarz was told the liver was positive for Hepatitis C, but there are drugs which have a good success rate of treating the disease.

Schwarz questioned the doctor regarding his risks that the Hepatitis C might not respond to the treatment after transplantation.

The doctor’s answer was about 2 percent.

His answer to the doctor, Schwarz said: “That’s a no-brainer...let’s go.”

On Sunday, July 26, 2020, Schwarz got a new kidney and liver...and a new start on life.

Within five days, he was on his way home.

A nurse commented to Schwarz that she had been involved with transplants for over 22 years and had never seen anyone get out in five days.

Most newly transplanted kidneys require a couple of days of dialysis to start functioning properly, Schwarz was told, but not in his case.

“As soon as they put the liver and kidney in, they started functioning right away... and we never looked back,” Schwarz said.

With the help of his family and friends, Schwarz continued to recover at home and returned to work within about five weeks.

Since that time, the doctors have decreased his medication to about half what he was taking and successfully treated the Hepatitits C in his new liver.

It has been less than six months since receiving the transplant and Schwarz says he feels better than he has in years.

Although his medical team says it may take up to 10 months before he will get his stamina back, Schwarz said, overall, he feels much better.

“I have more energy and I feel like I did eight years ago,” he said.

Glad to be back at the helm of Schwarz Ready Mix, he said his father Pete Schwarz started the company in 1948.

His parents had six children at the time, he said, and when fanning wasn’t providing enough resources to care for the family his fatherbegan to look for an added source of income.

As World War II was ending and while contemplating what type of business to get into, his father thought people would begin building homes and he was right, Schwarz said.

The company grew, as did their family with another six children being born throughout the years.

From the age of 14, Schwarz said he knew he wanted to work in the family business and after graduating from Okarche High School in 1969, his father encouraged him to pursue a college degree. He followed his father’s

He followed his father’s guidance, earning a bachelor’s degree at Oklahoma State University in 1972 and then he returned to run the family business.

Over the years, the company has grown to include 18 concrete plants and over 120 trucks operating locally and throughout central Oklahoma.

With no signs of retiring, Schwarz said, “I love doing what I do and I plan to keep on working.”

Schwarz and his wife of 44 years, Ginny, live in Yukon and have three grown sons and three grandchildren.

Although there have been ups and downs throughout the last two years, Schwarz said he is very thankful for his friends and family, their prayers and encouragement and the opportunity he has been given.