Paul Wight reflects on acromegaly diagnosis and being told wouldn’t live past 45
Paul Wight discussed his acromegaly diagnosis and surgery that saved his life.
In an interview with High Performance, Wight talked about his visit to the Mayo Clinic when he was at University, and the doctor informing him about the acromegaly diagnosis.
“I was 19. I went my whole life, I thought I was just gifted because I had incredible endurance. I ate whatever I wanted. I could run all day, and strong and all that. Then, I went to Wichita State, and the doctor there had worked at the Mayo Clinic and was familiar with (it). He looked at my hands, and there’s different things. Like the roof of my mouth is very high, jawline, sinuses, and stuff like that.”
“He says, ‘I think you have acromegaly.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ Then, within a week, I was at the Mayo Clinic, and they’re telling me they got to do this pituitary surgery. What, I had a tumor? This is why I’m this way? I would have been big anyway. I would have been probably 6’7″, 6’8″, anyway, because my family’s big so I didn’t, I got the benefits of it, but I didn’t have a lot of the trauma that a lot of people that get acromegaly go through because they weren’t made to be bigger people. So they really got the bad end of the deal for the bone growth and other problems.”
He further highlighted that the doctors warned him of life expectancy until the age of 45 and advised him to undergo surgery.
“That was just a figure that I was told because I almost didn’t get the surgery. They were telling me, ‘Well, if you don’t get this surgery, you’ll probably be dead by the time you’re 45.’ Because this will shut down, this will happen. I remember thinking like, ‘45’s a long time away. I don’t know.’ I mean, you know, I’m going to start my sophomore season at Wichita State. I don’t know. Maybe I should just, you know, not get the surgery. And I remember my sister was very adamant at the time. No, you’re getting the surgery.”
Wight was associated with WWE for a little more than two decades with multiple runs in the company. He signed with AEW in 2021 where he was a commentator for Dark. Wight has also been working on his physique transformation in his time away, and is already hopeful of an in-ring return soon.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.