The Unbelievable Comeback of Nebraska's Bubba Wilson

 

Bubba Wilson 

In the world of collegiate wrestling sometimes a wrestler will face far greater challenges than any opponent that he'll ever face on the mat.  Bubba Wilson is a talented grappler that won Kansas high school state titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman during his prep career that included 150 victories.  Ranked #11 in the country at his weight class, he was named the 2019 Class 6A Kansas state wrestler of the year, a highly sought recruit that settled on the University of Nebraska. 

During his redshirt year of 2019-2020, Wilson put together a very impressive 19-3 record for the Cornhuskers, which included being crowned champion at four different tournaments, taking runner-up honors at another. Prepared and excited to do battle with the other 165 lbs wrestlers in varsity competition, tragedy would strike. 

During the preseason as he was preparing for the upcoming season, he was poked exceptionally hard in the eye. There soon after he began getting severe headaches as both his vision and his hearing began to deteriorate. Both his school work and his wrestling began to suffer, but Bubba was convinced that it was a mental issue that he needed to toughen out and power through.  Spending time with some teammates on a Friday night, Bubba's headaches got so severe that he went to bed at 7 p.m.  He slept all through Saturday, as his girlfriend woke him up on Sunday night. 

"That's when we knew something was really wrong," Bubba said when describing the situation. "That's when we decided to go back home to Kansas." 

While back home, doctors recommended that Bubba go to the emergency room. From there he went through a series of test to try and determine what was wrong. 

"I was poked by over 100 needles." Bubba explained. "Brain scans and various other tests trying to figure out what the problem was." 

Bubba was in and out of the hospital, sleeping for 18-20 hours per day.  He wanted to be more active but the headaches were unbearable.  He was seeing double vision.  He felt that his body was shutting down. 

The issue? A blood clot.  One so severe that doctors informed him that it was one of the biggest and worst they had ever seen.  Ironically enough, unable to know for sure the cause, it was determined that it was most likely not the eye poke that he had received at practice. 

"I think it could have been Covid." Bubba answered when exploring other causes. "This all happened before testing became a big thing and we later found out that others had developed blood clots because of the virus." 

During the time that Bubba was in the hospital he was allowed one visitor.  He chose his mom who was with him throughout the whole process.  It was one of the most frightening moments in his life. 

"I honestly thought I could die," Bubba said. "I thought I might need to say goodbye to my mom, my dad, my girlfriend and my sisters." 

Bubba was given meds to help with the pressure caused by the blood clot as he was sent home, where he continued to contemplate this tragic issue maybe getting the best of him.  At this point wrestling was the furthest thing from his mind.  All he was concerned about was beating this blood clot and surviving. 

That's when Doctors suggested removing the blood clot through surgery. This option would take care of the problem, but in turn create another.  If Bubba went this route, it meant no more wrestling. Feeling helpless and as if he had no other choice, he took it into consideration.  His mom on the other hand was against it. For her it wasn't an option. She wanted her son to be able to continue his wrestling career.  There had to be another way. 

That's when the options of extreme blood thinners with a lumbar puncture became an option.  These procedures little by little began to work.  His vision began to come back as did his hearing. The headaches weren't nearly as severe.  

"Oh yeah," Bubba answered when asked if his coaches and teammates kept in contact with him through this battle. "Coach Snyder called me all the time to tell me to keep fighting. To remind me that I was tough enough to beat this and I would come out the winner.  Coach Manning called a lot too, giving me words of encouragement.  My teammates were busy with the wrestling season and with school, yet they still took the time to check in on me.  They still took the time to let me know they were here for me." 

Bubba began to progress more and more and by December things were really looking up.  By January he was allowed back into the wrestling room. He wasn't allowed to practice yet, but he was allowed to ride the stationary bike. During this time he watched his teammates go through the grind of a daily battle, as it made him antsy to get back on the mat.  

"I was hungry...." Bubba said with a slight hesitation before reforming his sentence to give a more accurate answer, "I was starved to get back on the mat." 

He'd have to wait though. While he was soon allowed to run and lift weights again, it wasn't until March when he was allowed to get back on the mat.  Even then he had to take precautions. He wrestled on aspirin and he had to change up his style a bit in order to avoid any head trauma. 

"Normally I'm a very aggressive wrestler." Bubba explained. "Yet I knew I didn't want to hit my head too hard, so I avoided headbutts and anything that might cause a hard blow to the head."  

Now eight months later, that is no longer a concern for Bubba. While he still occasionally gets headaches that he has to deal with, he's back and as far as he's concerned as good as ever.  He's been working exceptionally hard to make up for the lost time of last season. 

"Expect a very hard worker that is going to make some noise this year." Bubba answered when asked what the wrestling community should expect out of him this season.  

Bubba was reminded that at the current time some rankers already have him listed amongst the top 25 wrestlers in the nation. A truly remarkable statement considering the horror that he went through the past not quite two years.  Humble and full of humility, Bubba has not an ounce of arrogance in him, but it is clear how confident he is in himself and his abilities. 

"I believe I have the skills to compete with anyone at 165," Bubba said with assurance. "I'm going to surprise a lot of people this season.  I believe I am and I will prove that I'm one of the top 165 lbs'ers in the country." 

"Listen to your body." Was Bubba's advice to other wrestlers. "Don't try and toughen everything out. Sometimes your body is telling you things, and you need to listen to it. Had I have earlier, instead of trying to toughen through it, I might have had this problem solved earlier." 

As polite, gracious and friendly as Bubba is off the mat should you ever meet him, it's almost unbelievable that he is as fierce, mean and relentless as he is on it. Then again, "Unbelievable" is what Bubba Wilson is all about.   

Catch the Husker in action this Wednesday as Nebraska takes on North Carolina in dual meet action.