The Three Ways Wrestling Saved My Life

Peyton Robb was hospitalized shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He had been recovering in a Lincoln hospital until his recent release. Below are Peyton’s comments about his experience and his gratitude for the support shown to him.

Wrestling has always been known as a head-down, hard-nose sport. It has broken me before, and I’m sure it will again, but during my time in the hospital I always approached my new obstacles with a different mindset. I can’t thank wrestling enough for giving me the mental strength that it took to just keep looking forward when all signs and symptoms of the infection were pushing me back.

With the mental side of wrestling comes the physical. During much of my time in the hospital, I had a variety of issues at any time that we were trying to deal with. Things were not looking great early on in my stay; my body had been in sepsis, I had acute heart failure, kidney failure and hypotensive blood pressure, among other things. I spoke with multiple doctors during this time and more than once I was told that if not for the shape that my body was in, I could have ended up much worse, or even dead. The physical demand that I’ve gone through for all my wrestling training has paid off in much more than just wrestling. 

The final way that wrestling saved my life is through the love and generosity of the wrestling community. Once again, this group has shown that when push comes to shove, it doesn’t matter what color singlet or what logo you wear, we are all in it together. I received messages from friends, family, teammates, opponents and many others looking to show their support, and it has been remarkable how everyone can come together for a common cause. I’d like to thank everyone who reached out, kept me in their thoughts and prayers, and generously donated to my cause. Thank you to all my friends and family and my biggest of thank yous to the wrestling community as a whole!