Sarah Elizabeth Ann McDonald was born a fighter. As a preemie, she survived her first open heart surgery when she was less than one month old. At 18 months, she survived her second. Perhaps this fighting spirit is what inspired her love of watching wrestling.
Since childhood, she followed the career of Crazzy Steve, a professional wrestler best known for his tenures in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Sarah always wanted to go to one of his wrestling matches, but they were never close enough for her father, Keith, to take her.
But while Sarah was on Angela Hospice’s home hospice care, her social worker, Dominique, learned of Sarah’s fandom for Crazzy Steve, and helped her father to get in touch with him.
“I explained to him, ‘Sarah followed you. You’ve been her favorite wrestler for as far back as 25 years,’” Keith said. He told him that Sarah had ALS, and he asked Crazzy Steve if he could fly him out to visit Sarah as her dying wish.
“He said, ‘You sure you got the right wrestler?’” Keith recalled. But Keith reassured him, and Crazzy Steve said yes.
On the day of his visit, Crazzy Steve slipped into the house and put his face paint on, then came into the kitchen, slamming cabinet doors and making a ruckus. Then he came to end of the counter and asked, “Do you know who I am?”
Sarah answered, absolutely delighted, “You’re Crazzy Steve!”
Crazzy Steve makes his entrance. Photo credit: Lindsey V. Photography
“She was so surprised and so excited,” said Dominique, who was there for the visit.
He brought T-shirts, a wrestler doll, autographed photos, and a TNA backpack. He also brought a huge card that read: Sarah, from all your fans. It was signed by all the wrestlers on the roster.
The meeting meant a lot to Sarah, but it meant a lot to Crazzy Steve too.
“It’s single-handedly the most important thing I’ve ever done and easily the crowning achievement in this ongoing 22-year journey into professional wrestling,” he said.
Besides the wrestling connection, Steve said he and Sarah had a lot in common, including their love of horror movies and music.
Photo credit: Lindsey V. Photography
Sarah had asked about his wrestling entrance theme music, where she could see the lyrics. He texted them to her dad the next week, and the text was a bright spot on an otherwise tough day.
“I was kind of bummed,” Keith said. “Sarah didn’t eat with us that night, and when they lose their appetite, it’s getting close. The next morning, she said, ‘Daddy, I just want my meds and my yogurt, my pop, and to go back to bed.’ I said, ‘Well, maybe I got something that could make you feel better.’”
Keith played her the music Crazzy Steve sent, and Sarah listened to it six times. Then she asked for breakfast.
A few weeks later, Keith was with Sarah as she took her last breaths.
“She made me promise to be there for her at the end. I held her hand, brushed her hair, told her I loved her.” He could hear her heartbeat fading, and the color drained from her skin.
“I said, ‘Sarah, Jesus is here, honey.’”
After Sarah’s passing, Keith reached out to Steve to let him know—he had been planning to visit again. Steve told Keith he had his song and music video in post-production, and he asked “Can we dedicate this to your daughter?”
Now Sarah’s memory lives on, not only in the hearts of all who loved her, but in the music project of someone she admired so much.
“Sarah McDonald is an incredible soul, and being gifted the opportunity to develop a relationship with her and her family is not only humbling, but has forever changed my life for the better,” Steve said.
Angela Hospice offers specialized care for individuals with ALS. This is one of the many caring programs made possible through the support of caring donors.
To make a gift to help patients like Sarah, click here to donate.
A month after Sarah’s death, Crazzy Steve competed and won the TNA Digital Media Title at the TNA Hard To Kill event. He wrestled with “SARAH” written in large letters on his forearm. You can watch a clip from the match here.
