'Thanks' just not enough

At the time there wasn't much they could do for him other than monitoring and regular blood tests. They did tell him a liver transplant would be necessary.

He broke the news to Lisa, but she stuck by him.

"I told her I have this disease and I don't know how long I will be here," he said. "She said it wasn't an issue."

He always remembered the advice of his father and stuck to it.

"Did it change my life? No," Strauss said. "Growing up my dad emphasized to us, 'live your life how you want to live it because you never know when you might get hit by a bus.' "

He never lived in fear. He never let the disease get the best of him. He lived a normal life and took the disease on when he had to.

THE ENSUING YEARS: Fatigue was his constant companion for the next few years, but he was able to deal with it. The disease was progressing slowly.

In 1994, while working in the sports information department at Oklahoma State University, he began having more problems.

He was placed on the transplant list, and had everything scheduled to have the transplant at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Several months after being placed on the list he underwent a blood transfusion (in 1995), which seemed to stave off and slow down the disease.

The following year he was notified by doctors that they had a liver for him.

"I was feeling good and I told them no and to give it to someone else who needs it," he said. "I felt like my chances to live through the year were a lot better with the liver I had than with a new one. The first year is critical and I was feeling good."

That was quite a bold gamble for a guy who knew a transplant was eminent.

In the meantime, he accepted the head SID position at Utah State. People could tell he was a little sick, but he never let on to the extent of his problems.

He was in and out of hospitals. Infections from tests would leave him in the hospital for extended periods of time.

His liver was beginning to shut down. Jaundice, a common side effect was setting in. He was turning "gold" he said.

"When your liver quits functioning you get a lot of fluid build-up in your system and they would have to drain my stomach," he said. "I looked like I was pregnant at times."

In 2001 he went back on the transplant list.

THE CALL: He was at work when LDS Hospital in Salt Lake placed the call. Lisa called him at work and told him the hospital called and they had to leave.

It was Dec. 12, 2002, 3 p.m.

Lisa left the boys with boys with a neighbor, and he, in true form, tried to tie up loose ends at work, but co-workers told him to leave and they would take care of everything.