By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
A longtime Yukon businessman is offering his sincere thanks to everyone for their well wishes and prayers before, during and after a lifesaving double transplant surgery.
Philip Schwarz was on kidney dialysis during a 46-day hospitalization in late 2018 after contracting the Epstein Barr Virus.
After 14 months on the transplant waiting list, the Yukon man received a new kidney and liver on July 26 during a six-hour operation at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
Doctors knew Schwarz was a good transplant candidate.
“I wasn’t one of those guys who was going to go home and sit in a chair,” he said. “I stay pretty active.”
Post-surgery, Schwarz was in the intensive care unit only one day and was back home in just five days.
Schwarz is doing well in recovery as he gradually regains his stamina. He recently started golfing again and plans to get back exercising.
The care shown by his many friends and family has made a huge impact during the transplant process.
“My doctors are so proud that everything is going so well,” Schwarz said.
“I truly appreciate everyone’s words of encouragement, cards and prayers. The love and support I received really kept me going through this two-year ordeal.”
An Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) blood drive in Schwarz’s name, hosted by Rush Peterbilt, provided the units needed for the many blood transfusions needed during his surgery.
The Yukon transplant recipient offered special thanks to the medical team at Integris Health’s Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute for their expertise and care.
BACK TO NORMAL
Life is nearly back to normal for Schwarz, who returned to his office in late August after the transplant operation.
That office is Schwarz Ready Mix, 1400 S Holly, where Schwarz has been president since 1976 after his father Pete turned over the business to him in 1972.
The well-respected concrete paving company, which now has 250 employees, will celebrate 75 years in 2023.
“We’ve grown quite a bit,” he said. “We bought the company back in 2013 from the people we sold it to.
“Since then, we’ve doubled the number of employees. We just kept getting the business back that they lost, which I think was a pretty good accomplishment.”
Schwarz has lived in Yukon since 1976, moving here from El Reno when his family business incorporated.
“When I moved here, I could see it was a good move,” he said. “I met my wife here.”
He and wife Ginny have been married 44 years and have three sons, John (a psychologist); and Keith and Doug, who work for Schwarz Ready Mix.
Schwarz is a member of St. John Nepomuk Catholic Church in Yukon.
An Okarche native, he graduated in 1969 with the 33-member Okarche High School.
