Phillip Eagleton overcame a devastating medical diagnosis that almost took his life.
A Liver Transplant Success Story
For as long as he can remember, Phillip Eagleton of Claremore, Okla. has been known as “The Sno Cone Man” by the locals in his hometown. “I typically work a thousand events a year,” he claims. “Making sno cones for schools, businesses, churches, birthday parties – you name it.”
It has been his passion project of sorts, turning him into a local celebrity over the years. But these days, Phillip is celebrated for something else – overcoming a devastating medical diagnosis that almost took his life.
Phillip has a family history of liver disease, claiming the lives of both his father and younger brother. But he says it’s always shocking when it happens to you. “I thought I was just gaining weight,” he laughs. “But as my belly got harder and more swollen, I knew it was something more serious.”
He was diagnosed with late-stage cirrhosis of the liver, meaning a significant amount of his healthy liver tissue had turned to scar tissue, preventing his liver from working properly. “I had a bout of hepatitis in my 20s,” he reveals. “They think that is when this whole thing started. I just didn’t find out about it until I was in my 60s.”
Paracentesis is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a needle or catheter to drain excess fluid from the abdominal cavity. “It got to the point that I was needing to have this procedure done on a weekly basis,” admits Phillip. “Each time, they would remove approximately eight liters of fluid from my body.”
His doctors told him he needed a liver transplant, or he would die. They referred him to the Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute at INTEGRIS Health Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
His first meeting with Joykumar Patel, M.D., a transplant hepatologist at INTEGRIS Health, happened on Oct. 21, 2025. "When I first met Phillip, he was critically ill with advanced liver disease. His condition had progressed to the point where a liver transplant was truly his only chance for survival," remarks Patel. “I told him he needed to go directly to the emergency room and we began testing that day.”
The MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) score is a numerical scale ranging from 6 to 40 used to assess the severity of chronic liver disease. It estimates a patient’s risk of dying within the next three months and is the primary tool used by transplant networks to prioritize adults on the liver transplant waiting list.
“My MELD score had gone from a 14 to a 29. That’s how sick I was,” Phillip remembers. “I knew it was do or die time. I was in desperate need of a transplant.” He didn’t have to wait too long. An organ became available in about two months’ time.
Phillip received his liver transplant on Dec. 16, 2025. John Duffy, M.D., is a hepatobiliary and abdominal transplant surgeon. He performed the procedure. "Phillip was extremely sick, but the transplant went very well. The donor liver was an excellent match and seeing him back to enjoying life is exactly why we do this work," states Duffy.
More than six months post-surgery, 64-year-old Phillip says he feels better than he has in years. “I feel like a 20-year-old again,” he exclaims. His main focus now is giving back to the care team and the community that supported him and living a life worthy of the second chance he was so graciously given. “I owe somebody a huge favor and big hug in heaven. I have written to my donor family and hope to hear back from them one day, if and when they are ready.”
As for his sno cone stand, Phillip sold the company in 2024 when he got sick. But he’s back at it today, volunteering to make sno cones for any and everyone who wants one. “It’s the least I can do for the people who cared for me, prayed for me and helped me pull through this ordeal. I feel I owe it to them. I owe them my life.”
Oklahomans have three options to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor. Residents can sign-up when renewing their driver’s license, visit LifeShareRegistry.org to sign up online, or call 800-826-LIFE (5433) and request a donor registration form.
