Josh Merrell was pouring concrete on a playground one day for the Copperas Cove school district maintenance department when a frightening incident changed his life forever. âI was down floating (smoothing) it out, and I couldnât stand back up,â said Merrell, who lives in Killeen with wife, Amanda, a high school English teacher. âI was, like, what in the world? Iâm a big guy, and I have big, powerful legs â I used to squat 500 pounds â and I had to grab a hold of the swing set to pull myself up. I was all dizzy and stuff, and I knew something was not right.