CRANBERRY TWP — Concussions aren't usually associated with congestive heart failure. But for Stephen Popson, this odd affiliation is a cold reality.

After a car accident nine years ago, Popson sustained a concussion which caused ongoing symptoms of fatigue. To compensate, Popson began using energy drinks to keep up with his daily work in landscaping — as many as four or five per day over the course of a few years.

Shortly before turning 26 years old, Popson began to notice a decline in his health.

“I was struggling with breathing,” Popson said, “and my wife went to lay her head down on my chest, and she goes, 'Your heart is really racing.' That's when she made me go to the urgent care.”

From urgent care, Popson was sent to the emergency room, where it was discovered that his heart was not functioning properly.

According to Popson, physicians suspected his consumption of energy drinks was the cause of his heart's deteriorating condition.

In the past four years, Popson has had multiple hospital stays at UPMC Passavant and UPMC Presbyterian, but he was always able to return to work. But in April, he was admitted with severe abdominal pain. Doctors found Popson was in multiorgan failure due to his heart not pumping blood effectively through his body. Popson's condition had become so serious that he went into cardiac arrest in the ICU.

Over the next six days, Popson required four open-heart surgeries. The procedures included the insertion of a pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and a bridge to transplant pump.

Popson stayed in the hospital for two months following the procedures. He is now home with his family, but he needs a heart transplant.

Popson's condition means he can't work, and his family has no income apart from a small amount that his wife, Shelby, earns by providing day care services from their home.

Because of the financial strain, Once Upon A Hero, a nonprofit that hosts fundraising events to help local families or individuals in need, chose Popson to be its 2018 beneficiary.

Since its beginning the organization has aided seven other beneficiaries.

The organization will pay bills, including water and electric, for the Popson family, Hack said.

Read the full story in the Butler Eagle.