'I Just Keep Trying To Fight': Former Wrestler Donnie Wichmann Battles Brain Cancer
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Donnie Wichmann, the sculpted wrestler who never lost his physique at the age of 50, was on his customary, 40-mile bike ride when one side of his body went numb.
"I couldn't figure out if I was having a heart attack or, I didn't know what was going on," Wichmann said.
It was the worst-case scenario: Brain cancer. He said it doesn't make sense, but it is a reality, has been for nearly three years. A walk across the living room is a challenge to someone who relishes competition.
There has been much reflection with his wife Mindy in the middle of it, recalling when they met.
"Everybody loves him, wants to be around him," Mindy said.
"And she liked the mullet," Wichmann laughed.
"And I loved the mullet," Mindy said.
The mullet is gone, but the personality is not.
Wichmann wrestled, then was an assistant coach at Augsburg. This fall, he will be inducted into the national wrestling hall of fame.
"I'm just so proud, just so proud of the legacy that he's left," said Jeff Swenson, athletic director at Augsburg.
Oh, that wrestling community. They all know Donnie, and they've all been there for him.
"People that love him, and people don't love and support you if you're not throwing out that energy, and that's what he does, he just is amazing," Mindy said.
And that Augsburg community where Donnie matured into a man on the mats, and he feels that spirit from his people as he fights.
"It's been amazing. It's a lot of people behind me," Wichmann said.
Wichmann is the person who, after being diagnosed, went with his wife to ride a bike in the mountains of France.
"She's helped me so much. I couldn't have gotten this far without her," Wichmann said.
His life has been about relationships and working hard so he would never cheat himself.
"Always the hardest working guy in the room. In fact, I left Augsburg for a couple years and when I came back, I needed him to say he would stay," Swenson said.
And that's the way he approaches it now – the man with a will of steel that will not be broken.
"I just keep trying to fight, keep fighting, keep fighting, so I do," Wichmann said.
