Please join me in helping my nephew, Mitchell Walters, (AKA wrestler Badger Calhoun) face and conquer the medical challenge of his lifetime.

Mitchell is 32 years young; he has a 10-year-old daughter Lara and is dad to 8-year-old stepson Adam and young adult stepdaughter Hailey with his girlfriend Jaci. Mitchell went from a big-burley-beefy man who worked hard for his family in a physically demanding laborious job while also being able to fulfill his dreams of becoming a professional wrestler.

A few years ago, his life took a challenging turn with heart issues. While he maneuvered his path his heart and health would decline substantially enough, he was forced to step away from both work and the wrestling ring. For a while he was able to transition from wrestling to commentating with Absolute Pro Wrestling and loved it and it was a perfect fit for this enthusiastic, flamboyant and creative genius. But Mitchell would eventually be physically unable to complete most simple daily tasks and activities, challenging not just his body but also his family and his spirit.

Mitchell’s children have missed out on so many experiences with Dad because he physically hasn't been able to be involved. His decline in health has limited even the simplest, yet important relationship building, things like a trip to the park where Dad was forced to sit in the car while they played and laughed in the sunshine without him. He hasn't been able to attend school functions or concerts, no outings, no nature hikes, no tickle or wrestling sessions with his kids. Hailey has missed his fatherly advice as she transitioned into a young adult. He has missed swimming with the family which they so enjoyed. Jaci has been both mom and dad and solo provider which has been a tremendous burden on the family on so many levels. I'm not certain his young children can fully comprehend the changes dad has gone through and his inability to participate in the same way they remember. For Jaci the family dynamics have come down to getting through each day, each pile of laundry, each trip to the grocery store and preparing each meal and kissing each scrapped knee all while maintaining her job and attempting to keep a semblance of normalcy for their children.

This past spring Mitchell and his medical team were working to qualify him for a procedure called LVAD - left ventricular assist device - which is a mechanical pump that's surgically implanted in the chest to help the heart pump blood. In Mitchell’s own words this past year he was “Hopping through hoops like a circus seal -Another tip toe closer to the LVAD.” Since late spring he has been in and out of the hospital, It's been a long journey, but little did they know it was just the beginning.

Unfortunately, his heart continued to deteriorate, and he was eventually admitted through the ER at University of Iowa Hospital. During the first weeks our family was not given much hope for his survival and were told Mitchell was battling end of life heart failure. Since then, he has undergone numerous heart surgeries attempting to save his heart and his life. The procedures his heart team attempted were not enough and he ended up with a sophisticated external heart pumping system. For weeks he was intubated and sedated hoping his body would accept the help of these life sustaining pumps. Through this process his body began shutting down organs; his kidneys and liver became compromised and struggled, he developed pneumonia with very high fevers all while undergoing countless procedures, testing and constant monitoring in the ICU. As Mitchell fought for his life every inch of both arms were taped or attached to lines and a huge set of pump cannulas painfully attached at his neck "torture style" attached to his temple, the insistent beeping and whirring of pumps and machinery monitoring and counting his every pulse. Every few days his medical team would slowly bring down his sedation to see if he would respond to commands to squeeze their hand or wiggle his toes. Eventually these small gestures became glimmers of hope that he might pull through.

As countless long days turned into weeks his body began to accept the pumps & his organs began to slowly start recovering. Little by little assistive devices were taken away and his body started taking over with the aid of these wonderful - life sustaining heart pumps. Mitchell’s care team in Iowa, in consultation with family, coordinated with Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska and he was accepted into this larger heart center with the hope that he would qualify for a donor heart transplant. In short order he was transported via medical air evac where he is currently, almost 2 months from his initial admission.

Mitchell’s new care team evaluated his condition and prognosis, and he was ultimately approved and is currently placed first on the list for a heart transplant. He is surviving with his bulky heart pumps & machinery on carts at his bedside with a designated heart pump nurse always in attendance. The last few weeks Mitchell has been working hard to regain motor control and coordination and is now taking short walks down the hallway, ever accompanied by his medical pump on rolling carts and several staff members.

His mother, Betty, has been at his side since before his first hospital admission. She was the force he needed to navigate the medical roadblocks he encountered and was responsible for ultimately getting him the care that would eventually bring him to Omaha, one step after the other down the hospital hallways building his strength for the moment when a donor heart becomes available. Betty lived in Michigan and was working as a physical therapist assistant when she made the important decision to take FMLA to be his advocate and has barely left his bedside. With the assistance of the wonderful hospital social workers, his sister Sarah, also from Michigan, was able to arrange working remotely to be with her mom and brother. They have been living between the ICU and a hotel room taking shifts to ensure Mitchell always has family at his bedside while sustaining on hospital cafeteria food. His father, Randy, flew in from Japan to keep bedside vigil during the worst of his days.

None of us can say how we would do in this situation, being poked, prodded, woken every hour, not being able to get up on your own, no privacy, the multitude of lines and carts attached to you, keeping your heart beating as you listen to machines beep all hours of the day....endless days, and more endless days to come, hoping more days will come. But he is handling it well as he waits and strengthens his body and mind for the gift of life through a donation heart. There is no timeline, and I cannot imagine his thoughts to know someone else's end-of-life gift will save his own.

Please consider donating to help off-set the expenses his mom and sister are incurring to be at his bedside. Funds donated would also help Jaci in making the weekly trip from out of state to visit and the transportation and lodging costs that will be associated with his long recovery period until Mitchell is strong enough to return to work.

Feeling the warmth of the sun for the first time in months

Donning Superman cape and getting stronger in anticipation of a transplant surgery at any time

A force in the ring a few short years ago

Please follow Mitchell through his recovery journey as we will update with any significant medical changes.

We thank you for any size donation and ask you to keep Mitchell and his family in your prayers, as well as the donor who is giving this gift of life to him.

Uncle Rick & Aunt Linda

❤️