A heart transplant hasn’t stopped Canyon View wrestler Calvin Hughes

Sophomore Calvin Hughes is wrestling for Waddell Canyon View after undergoing a heart transplant in February 2023.Hughes was diagnosed with full heart failure after experiencing unusual fatigue while playing basketball.

Not many wrestlers, if any, at Waddell Canyon View know the backstory about the new kid in the room.

Calvin Hughes doesn’t bring it up. He’d rather be treated like everybody else in a program in the midst of building a Division II dynasty.

But coach Joey Ortiz knows, and that’s why he felt compelled to have Hughes’ story told.

In February 2023, Hughes underwent a heart transplant. An avid basketball player, he beat the odds and is now wrestling at 150 pounds as a sophomore at a school that has won the past two state championships.

“Kids get little ‘owees,’ and messed up fingernails, and they find a way out in the wrestling world,” Ortiz said. “This guy’s been awesome. He has every excuse in the world to pack it in and call it quits — or not even come out for the sport.

“This guy has far exceeded. He doesn’t complain. He works his butt off. He tries things. And he’s an outstanding student.”

Hughes was all about basketball before turning to wrestling this year. He would double up on competition, bouncing from his middle school team to club. But, suddenly he was getting tired faster than usual.

“My heart stopped working,” he said. “I had to get a new heart.”

Doctors didn’t tell him he could never play sports, but, he said, “They didn’t recommend it at the time.”

“But I made a really good recovery,” he said. “I feel in great shape. I’m trying to be like everybody else and try my hardest.”

Barbara Hughes, Calvin’s mom, has been supportive in her son’s desire to try wrestling for the first time.

She worries about her son, but, at the same time, she doesn’t baby him, understanding the risks of getting hurt in one of the most physically grueling sports.

“He’s just always wanting to do new things, explore,” Barbara said. “Do things and learn things.

“To me, it’s still pretty mind blowing. You would never know that he had a heart transplant less than three years ago and that he’s thriving.”

After one middle school game in January 2023, he felt nauseated. He was taken to his pediatrician the next day, and was diagnosed with strep throat. He was put on antibiotics.

After 10 days, he still didn’t feel well, so he went back to the doctor. They did an X-ray of his chest.

“It was discovered that he was in full heart failure,” Barbara said. “It was only operating at 20 percent. The pediatrician said the heart was way too large for what it should be. He said, ‘You need to get him to the hospital right now.'”

He was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. With his other organs struggling, 10 days in, he was put on a transplant list. Remarkably, it took only five days to find a match.

“It’s almost unheard of,” Barbara said.

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Hughes kept surprising everyone. They usually keep a new heart recipient sedated for up to 24 hours, Barbara said she was told. He was awake within seven hours, moving around. He came off the sedation and intubation.

He was released on Valentine’s Day, seven days following the transplant. February is heart health awareness month.

“At the time, he was the fastest-released after transplant from the hospital,” Barbara said. “Two weeks later, he was in our backyard, shooting basketballs. Not running around. His chest had to heal with wires. But he was so fast to recovery.”

Hughes likes blending in the crowd of committed wrestlers in Ortiz’s sauna-like Canyon View wrestling room.

“We’re here to work every day,” he said. “It’s fun. I’ve learned a lot.

“This is a very tough sport. It takes resilience.”

Ortiz looks at Hughes and feels inspired.

“He’s like the heart and soul of the program,” Ortiz said. “He’s not a starter by any means. But he’s what really exemplifies the sport. So inspirational.

“We’re about the west side. It really exemplifies to our community, fighting hard, blue-collar, hard-working families. He’s a prime example of that.”

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert