Forced to quit.

I’ve wanted to be a pro wrestler since I was 13. Some days it was the only thing keeping me going. After years of weight issues and back injuries I finally started training late last year. It was difficult but the thought of finally performing for a crowd and proving teenage me right kept me going.

In March I suffered from a traumatic event. From then my health has significantly declined. I went from being the fittest I’d ever been, working out and going to training regularly at the beginning of this year, to being practically bed bound most days in the span of a few months.

The last time I was in the ring I managed a few rolls before I was seeing so many spots I was losing vision. My stomach hurt and I felt incredibly nauseous. My trainer looked at me and asked if I was out. I could barely answer him, but I said yes. I rang my mum and cried to her on the phone for half and hour, before sitting in the freezing cold of the parking lot for most of the rest of the session because I was too ashamed to face everyone else. I ended up in hospital for the fifth time this year a few days later.

We don’t know what’s wrong with me yet. I’m think with a diagnosis and some treatment I might be able to get back in the ring one day but I’m not hopeful.

Has anyone else had to quit for good? How did you deal with it? Wrestling has been my biggest passion for so much of my life and now I can barely stand to see a post online without tearing up. Nobody I know understands what I’m going through, so I thought I’d reach out here. Thanks.