Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Williams.
Hi Daniel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis in 2015. The condition really started in December 2014, when I had a droopy left eyelid. I went to the optometrist in my home country of Trinidad, who told me that the eyelid would go back to normal after a few months.
I was like, “nice, let’s go!” because I was going to the US for my very first semester of college at West Texas A&M University. Honestly, I felt almost normal, my vision was not 100%, but I was more excited to start college and to be closer to my dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
It was not until January 2015 that I hit rock bottom. I went to sleep one night with the droopy eyelid and LITERALLY woke up the next day with my eyes Criss-crossed. I was super-scared, horrified, and shocked beyond belief.
Being the never-say-die guy that I am, used to do eye exercises every morning, went to classes with an eyepatch, and even did college wrestling with an eyepatch. I used to cover the right eye (the good eye) to strengthen the left eye. My peripheral was way off haha.
My vision was not getting better, and my eyes were still crisscrossed. I was taken to the ER room in North Carolina. In the ER, they have a procedure where they run different tests on a patient to “cover all the bases.”
This was where it got crazy. During the EKG (where they monitor the mechanical activity of the heart), the doctors found a small hole in my heart with a slight murmur and a low ejection fraction. The low ejection fraction simply means that my heart was not pumping out all of the necessary blood that my body needs.
I was like “come on, what this??” The cardiologist then proceeds to tell me that I should stop wrestling for good. Do you mean to tell me, that the ONE thing that I worked my whole life for, sacrificed for, cried for, scratched for, I couldn’t do??
Hearing those words, having a hole in my heart, a slight murmur, a low ejection fraction, and being diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis was Rock Bottom for me. And honestly, that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. My family was telling me I should listen to the doctors, take it easy, and stop wrestling.
I felt like a complete waste.
I felt like a complete failure.
I thought this was the end.
And then there was the moment that it all changed.
After 3 days in the ER, and after crying myself to sleep some nights, I decided to stop being so hard on myself and to keep pushing forward. When I decided to make that change, these were some of the things that I did.
Every day, I would work out at my college’s gym with my eyepatch on.
Every day, I would take my 40 mg of Prednisone, 10mg of Lisinopril, Carvedilol, and Pyridostigmine.
Every day, I would pray.
Every day, I worked on my goals and vision.
As a result of making these changes, I started to feel EMPOWERED… My eyes eventually went back to normal, and the doctors took me off the medications. My heart’s ejection fraction increased, and I have not had a problem with the hole in my heart.
My muscles were not depleted. I transferred to Texas State University where I got my Bachelor’s in Biology and minor in Chemistry. I met the girl of my dreams, who supports all my dreams wholeheartedly.
And lastly, I became GOAL FOCUSED, and anything that was not helping my goals, I would not allow into my life. And it felt absolutely amazing. Here I am 7 years later still chasing the dream!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been 100% smooth. Some struggles include Myasthenia Gravis diagnosed in 2015. Low ejection fraction small hole in my heart.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a professional wrestler, and content creator on Instagram, YouTube, and Tiktok.
I’ve wrestled for the WWE, and I’m currently growing my business/presence online.
My handle on IG is @thetrinidan, on YT is Trinidan, and Tiktok is OfficialTriniDan.
How do you define success?
Success is doing what you love and being happy daily.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetrinidan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TriniDan
Image Credits
TCBTX Photography and WWE
