Steve “Mongo” McMichael & Misty McMichael via Misty’s Instagram McMichael.Misty FOLLOW

 Part 1
Misty McMichael – Heart of Gold

I would like to tell you about an angel. Well, several angels. But one in particular. Her name is Misty McMichael. You can hear me talk about her in Episode 7 of my short story podcast, How I Killed My Mother, but there is too much to say about Misty so I’m writing this four-part article about her here at MafiaHairdresser.com. This is the Misty McMichael story—a narrative interwoven with the challenges of ALS caregiving and illuminated by the unbreakable bond between Misty and her husband, Steve McMichael, affectionately known to many as “Mongo.”

I first met Misty McMichael when she came into my private Mafia Hairdresser Salon on Walton Street in the Gold Coast of Chicago. She was recommended to me by her gal-pal, Laurie. A hair client of mine, and a woman whom, Misty claims, was one of three ladies who had saved her life. And not just because Laurie sent her to me to get her hair done. But more about Laurie, and those other life-saving ladies, later. Both have fallen into a life of battling ALS and discovering the power of love, hope, and the unwavering support of the ALS community, including the invaluable assistance from the Les Turner ALS Foundation.

You can Listen to this story on the HOW I KILLED MY MOTHER PODCAST here or most podcast platforms.

Misty McMichael: A Beacon of Love and ALS Awareness

I’m writing about Misty McMichael because, during that first hair appointment, and after we talked about her hair and I decided that a platinum “foiliage” color, cut and style would be what I was going to expertly perform on her, Misty shared how she was currently caring for Steve. You see, Steve had just passed the two year mark of being diagnosed with ALS. At that time, Misty told me that she believed that Steve probably had a few more years left in him. And like any good hairdresser, I just listened to her. But I’ve also met a lot of clients whose lives and loved ones, or themselves, were directly affected by ALS. From what Misty told me, I didn’t think that Steve was going to live much longer.

The NFL and ALS: A Battle Beyond the Field

But my heart was touched by Misty’s openness during her first appointment. She told me all about her life before Steve. And she told me how she fell in love with him and much about their good years together. She also told me what they were recently going through. And while I listened and worked on her hair, Misty was constantly interrupted by the calls she took from her at-home nurses, Steve’s doctors, Steve’s brother (who was taking care of Steve that day), as well as the many celebrities checking in with Misty to inquire when they could come to her house to visit her husband.
I felt that Misty’s life, her love story with Steve, and how ALS was playing out in their lives was compelling as well as important. So, with her permission, I wanted to share her story with you. I think you’ll learn something about ALS and how it has impacted one devoted wife’s life. I hope Misty’s story prepares anyone who might be affected by this horrible disease in the future. And if this story inspires, helps, or is read or passed on to someone who needs it. Me and Misty would appreciate that. And if you read this story and feel some love in your heart for Misty, and Steve, as well as other people and families affected by ALS, then we have all succeeded in creating more love in the world. If only just a bit.

Steve Mongo McMichael Chicago Bears via Misty’s Instagram McMichael.Misty FOLLOW

Misty grew up middle class and most everyone went to college in her family. Misty went to college, and she was even pre-med, but she was bored. No subjects attracted her attention. And as a young adult, she had a string of go nowhere relationships, two of which were exceptionally abusive. Misty was pretty, and pretty damn fun to be with, and she was not bored when became a professional stripper after a string of lesser paying “normal jobs.” But by the time she was only 24 years of age, Misty had already been through her worst relationships, and she was single, lonely, and tired of her life as it was. She began to rethink her job, her education, and, certainly, whom she was attracted to.

A Life-Altering Meet Cute at the Pearl Oyster to the Steve and Misty McMichael Love Story

On one particular late Sunday night, after an exceptionally exhausting week of dancing for strangers, Misty was about to meet the man who would be her knight in shining armor. A man who would change her life forever. But she didn’t know this that night when she walked into the Pearl Oyster Bar, in Austin, Texas, the town where she had lived in her early 20’s,

All Misty wanted to do that night was to go out after work and be near people but not necessarily be the center of attention. In fact, she used what she called her “resting bitch face,” and she leaned over her drink at the bar as if doing these actions were her social distancing tools. As Misty nursed her lemon drop shots with sugar on the rim. She wondered if she would ever find true love. And yet, she was sooo over men.

In the Pearl Oyster, Misty also began to review her life with the men she had chosen in the past and she made of a list of “never-agains.” Misty knew that she never again wanted to be with a man who would hurt her. Misty also never again wanted to be with a man who would take her money. But as she made her never again list in her mind, Misty pondered what she might put down on a list of what she might want in a man. Alas, she had found it hard to find line items to put in her want column. Had she ever dated or been with a good man?

In the last few minutes of her night out alone in the crowd, and while taking her last sip of her drink, Misty prayed. Maybe it was more of wish, she told me, because she wished or prayed to no particular divine entity really. Just to herself. Misty wished that she would meet a good man. And a man that she could love and adore. She wanted a man that could take care of her and a man that would appreciate what she could do for him. And she felt good about her wish. So much so that she remembered that wish was the most important thing that she had ever wished or prayed for in her whole entire life.

Around midnight Misty was done for the night, so she set down her empty lemon drop glass and decided to leave the bar. But before she could stand and move towards the exit, in walked a six foot, two inches, “hunk of a man.” He had sunglasses on his head to hold back long dark hair that reached to his waist. He sauntered into the bar. He swaggered. The hunk of a man entered that bar like he knew everyone in there was expecting him to walk through that door and that they expected to see a king. He obliged.

“Holly, crap,” she said to herself, “Who the f*ck is that?”

Misty McMichael at my Salon in Chicago with a friend’s dog, Marty.

Misty was interested. But Misty was also tired. And it was late. The hunk looked like trouble as much as much as she was attracted to him, and she still hadn’t finished or formulated her wish list yet. So she turned her back to him and decided that she also needed to wish that she would cease being attracted to bad boys because the man whom she was attracted to looked like one of those. But then he sat right down on the bar stool next to her. Misty was startled.

“WTF!?” she said, under her breath, noticing his cowboy boots.

At first, Misty didn’t want to acknowledge the man who walked in the bar and sat next to her. She was going to ignore him for a long dramatic minute, or two. Then leave. Afterall, uncompleted wishes or prayers couldn’t get answered that fast anyway. She certainly didn’t think that this guy who was hot, yet full of himself, was going to turn out to be the love of her life.

The NFL and ALS: A Battle Beyond the Field

But then Steve McMichael got right into her face and said, “I don’t know what you think, but you can’t have me.”

Adrenaline, shock, and a lifetime of being hit on by men, helped Misty quickly adjourn her weary thoughts, fatigue, and prayers, and she snapped at the man.

“Who said I wanted you?” said Misty, while flipping her long blonde fine hair off her shoulder.

I’m sure that Misty cussed when she first met Steve, the man who became her untimely surprise drop from heaven. Misty cusses a lot.

There was cooling off period then Misty sent Steve a drink from the bartender. A lemon drop, with sugar on the rim. Later, he returned the favor and had the bartender send her over the same drink. Only it did not have sugar on the rim. So, she cussed some more at Steve. And Steve chuckled some more. And then they talked. Whatever they talked about that night was the perfect spark because Misty and Steve have rarely been apart since that fateful night on March 24, in 1998.

They got engaged on March 24, 1999, in Venice, Italy, because Steve had asked Misty what the most romantic city in the world was to her. And in that year leading up the engagement, but quite a while after she had fallen in love with him at the Pearl Oyster Bar, Misty learned that Steve “Mongo” McMichael was, indeed, a wild and crazy bad boy. But he was also kind and gentle to her. He didn’t take her money. And he appreciated her as much as she appreciated him. She also came to know that he was a hard-working athlete and a bonafide celebrity whom the public loved. Misty told me that as much as the public loved knowing so much about Steve, they would never really know how much of a romantic he was. It was Steve’s idea to get engaged in Italy, and it was Steve’s idea to get married on, you guessed it, on March 24, 2001. And they had a good life together, until…

On April 23, 2021, Steve announced on WGN TV, while being interviewed by his friend, Jarrett Payton, that he would, from that day on, be fighting ALS in private, away from the public eye. He told his fans that he had been living and fighting the good fight for his fans, but it was now time to leave the spotlight. Misty told me that, after his diagnosis, and up to the time he retired from the public eye, she believed Steve was able to fight this disease so well was because of the inspirational and spiritual support from his fans, friends, teammates, his family; as well as his NFL, WWF, ESPN, and his WGN associates. She’d like to thank all of them for that. She said Steve thanks them too. She’d also to thank all of their doctors, nurses, and her home care specialists, as well as their compassionate friends at the ALS Association and the Les Turner ALS Foundation. She and Steve have received the love and support and are thankful. But now Steve can only receive the love from everyone with the help of Misty. And Steve can only show his love for Misty by staying alive, only for her.

A Call to Action for ALS Support and Awareness

When one is first diagnosed with ALS, the doctors will tell you that you will probably only live from 2 ½ to 5 years. In the old days, when Lou Gehrig was diagnosed, doctors gave the patients hope by telling them it was possible to live much longer. But, on the aside, doctors would tell the truth to the family and friends who would be taking care of the ALS patient. Both Steve and Misty had been given the full truth of their situation when Steve was diagnosed. And yet that didn’t ease their shock at how fast ALS was going to take away her husband’s motor skills. Steve’s ALS had a wicked and speedy progression and ignorance may not have been their bliss, but they both held onto hope. Against all odds, they even had hopeful dreams of Steve beating the odds when he first began to have major symptoms. But they soon learned that it was one thing to know the odds and the facts, and to dream, but it was another thing to experience the reality of ALS.

It was in September of 2020, after Steve’s arms began fumbling, that Misty and Steve were given the first ALS diagnosis. Misty and Steve were, initially, in disbelief so they sought out a second and third medical opinion before they surrendered to what Steve was in for. And then Steve McMichael lost the use of his arms and hands altogether. In public, Steve expressed thanks that at least it didn’t happen to him when he was a younger man. He said he was thrilled and thankful to have had the life he had already had. Misty told me that her husband was brave right away. He was brave for his fans, and he was even brave at home for her and her daughter. He rarely broke down, surrendered, or expressed remorse for anything. He was a trooper, and he took on the disease gracefully and with dignity. But she didn’t know how hard it was going to be as the disease progressed.

In the time I got to know Misty in the past year, Steve also lost his breath and his speech. All that’s left now is his eyeballs and, in time, I’m told he won’t even be able to move his eyes. It only took two and a half years for this all to happen to Steve. And, sadly, Misty no longer thinks Steve has as much time left as when I had first met her.

End of Part 1 of 4. Click Below for Part 2.

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