If you comply with the quickly rising sport of disc golf, you definitely know the title Ricky Wysocki. One of the game’s true superstars turned professional in 2010 and since that point has earned prize cash nicely in extra of $500,000. However, a shock Lyme illness analysis in 2019 left him bedridden for months and his profession on the sidelines. After navigating some tremendously unsure instances, Wysocki returned to the disc golf circuit the place he’s as soon as once more the top-ranking athlete.
M&F sat down with the 29-year-old disc golf supremo to search out out extra about Lyme illness. Also, Wysocki discusses how he got here again stronger than ever.
Ricky Wysocki competes on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, the most important skilled disc golf tour on the earth. The tour options probably the most elite disc athletes on the planet. As a busy competitor, he had no ideas of slowing down till he was blindsided on the peak of his powers. “Not much of anything at all,” was Wysocki’s data of Lyme illness earlier than it grew to become an ailment that he would come to know greater than most. In his case, the primary signs introduced themselves as weak point and fatigue. Unfortunately, Lyme illness might be tough to diagnose with out a blood check, since greater than 100 signs have been recognized to current themselves and this typically misleads folks into pondering they’re affected by one thing else.
Ricky Wysocki was recognized with Lyme illness in 2019
Ricky Wysocki had been contaminated by a tick chew, however the telltale bullseye-shaped rash that usually supplies a clue to the illness didn’t present up till six weeks after the chew occurred. “I took a blood test and tested positive for Lyme disease,” recollects the athlete, who now needed to go on a steep studying curve. “I wasn’t sure what it actually meant.” Indeed, going into 2020, the professional entered a low level. “The mental battle had to be the worst part of the whole experience,” he shares. “Depression, and my mental health, was at an all-time low. Initially, I thought I’d never be able to play disc golf again… almost like my body was falling apart in front of my eyes.”
Like many different outside sports activities disc golf exposes athletes to ticks that inhabit grass and woodlands and so Wysocki now recommends Insect Shield for cover. While Lyme illness is talked about lower than many different diseases, there are ticks in each state of the U.S. and circumstances are on the up. In reality, round half-a-million Americans contract Lyme illness annually. The CDC identifies early indicators as being fevers, chills, complications, and fatigue, together with muscle and joint aches. While the ensuing rash from the tick chew typically seems to take the form of the bullseye on a dart board, that isn’t at all times the case.
Several months after the tick has contaminated its host, people typically endure with facial palsy, arthritis, and coronary heart palpitations. Wysocki’s personal well being declined quickly, and he started struggling to stroll till he discovered himself confined to his mattress, scared that he’d by no means compete once more. Fortunately, assist was at hand. “My support system is second to none,” he says. “Even through the irritability I was suffering, everyone else kept a positive and uplifting outlook on things to come.”
Ricky Wysocki went again to the basics to return as an elite athlete
Wysocki took Doxycycline, Zithromax, and Plaquenil to fight the Lyme illness, however returning as an elite professional disc golfer required our man to go additional, utterly rebuilding his relationship between physique and thoughts. “I knew I had to do something for myself and dig deep if this was something I was going to overcome,” he shares. “When the world was falling apart around me, the only thing to do was rise to the occasion. I went back to the basics and fundamentals of disc golf. I trusted my knowledge and experience on and off the course to push through. Once my body felt normal, it was back to the everyday grind of disc golf mechanics; putting, field work, more putting and mental focus.”
As Wysocki practiced his method, the magic returned. “For the most part, I feel like I have a renewed knowledge of my own body,” he says. “Although I do still have random flare ups, I’m confident in my team and people around me that we have this under control”
Now again on prime because the official primary participant for the final two years, Wysocki couldn’t be extra excited for his future within the sport. “The ride has been absolutely amazing to say the least,” he says. “The growth of disc golf has been exponential in the last few years. I went from traveling and sleeping in a car to being one of the faces of the sport. There are so many new, young, and exciting faces on the scene that it’s getting harder and harder to stay at the top. This is one of the challenges that I enjoy the most!”
With his abilities sharper than ever, Wysocki intends to rise to the problem of recent expertise. He additionally desires to unfold an vital message. “I want to add a few more world titles and get a better understanding of Lyme disease and continue to spread awareness,” says the resilient athlete. And, for anybody else who us discovering that unwell well being is threatening their potential to remain energetic or play sports activities, Wysocki has some phrases of encouragement. “As hard as things may seem, you have to find a way to stay positive not only mentally but physically as well,” he enthuses. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of depression and letting things that out of your control and consume you, but I promise you: it’s not the end by a long shot.”