Daredevil concerned new liver may have been rejected

Robert Macy

Friday, April 9, 1999 | 2:24 a.m.

A week ago, motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel was in a posh Strip resort, talking about his liver transplant giving him a new lease on life.

Friday he was back in one of his familiar haunts, a hospital, talking about the liver possibly being rejected and what fate might have in store for him.

"I think my body is rejecting the liver or my hepatitis C is coming back and overtaking my liver," Knievel said, speaking softly from his bed at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. "I've been feeling weak and dizzy and tired."

Knievel received a life-saving liver transplant in Tampa, Fla. two months ago. He said he had been waiting for a new liver to replace one wracked by hepatitis C he says was caused by years of blood transfusions.

Knievel, 60, has been in and out of hospitals over the years, breaking nearly every bone in his body and undergoing 16 or 17 operations during his tenure as the country's most celebrated cyclist.

Sunrise spokeswoman Ann Lynch said Friday afternoon doctors were still trying to determine whether the liver had been rejected.

Asked if he was concerned about beating his latest medical problem, Knievel responded, "Oh, yeah."

Knievel was at Caesars Palace last week to introduce a new motorcycle bearing his name. It was at the resort that he was nearly killed in a Dec. 31, 1967 motorcycle jump over the resort's fountains.

In an interview he said he was told by Tampa doctors in January that he had only 20 to 30 days to live unless a liver donor was found. A short time late a donor was found and the transplant was performed.

Knievel said at the Caesars appearance that the transplant had given him a new lease - and a new outlook - on life. He used the appearance to appeal for organ donors.

Knievel has homes in Florida, Montana and Las Vegas. His son, Robbie, is scheduled to jump a motorcycle over a portion of the Grand Canyon April 29.