ANDOVER – On Oct. 10, Andover High’s Ryan Todisco finished 10th in the cross country tri-meet against Central Catholic and Billerica.
To him, that was a victory.
Regardless if he finishes first, 10th or last at Saturday’s Merrimack Valley Conference Championship Meet, it’ll be another victory.
After eight extremely long and turbulent years of dealing with Lyme disease – as well as three stress fractures in his foot – Todisco is finally healthy, which is a better feeling than any actual first-place medals.
“I’m feeling real good right now,” he said. “It’s tough to know what normal feels like because I felt bad for so long now. As far as I know, I feel normal right now.”
That day was Todisco’s first race of the season. It was just his third competitive race since January and eighth in two years.
His last previous cross country race?
November of 2022 when he finished tenth in the state as a sophomore, breaking a school record with a 15:46 time.
“When he was feeling well he took off and you could see his natural ability but then he would just get set back again,” said Andover High cross country coach Sue Kiley. “He’s got a ton of natural talent, but he just hasn’t been able to consistently show that because he hasn’t been able to train normally.”
An unforgettable school field trip
Through fourth grade, everything was “normal” for Todisco. He played soccer and hockey, and hung out with his friends. That all dramatically changed a year later. He took part in a school field trip, staying overnight in a log cabin. A few weeks later, he didn’t feel right and his life completely turned upside down.
Over the next seven years, Todisco battled migraine headaches nearly every day. He battled chronic stomach issues and nausea and was always feeling extremely fatigued. He’s had countless treatments and transfusions, and has been on 20 different antibiotics, the majority of them didn’t help him.
In addition to all of that, he’s been seen by homeostasis doctors, neurologists and gastrologists. He’s been bedridden for weeks at times. He’s missed a lot of school – half of fifth and sixth grade, a big chunk of seventh grade and almost his entire junior year, only to repeat it.
“It was a lot (to handle). At the time (I was diagnosed) I was more confused than anything else. I was so young so I didn’t understand all of this medical stuff,” he said. “It was tough being out of school. I missed out on being with my friends during middle school and being isolated for months at a time was tough. On the other side, at that time, not having a diagnosis (for a year) and not having a treatment that could fix it (was more frustrating).”
In the fall of 2022, he started to feel better. His cross country season started late because of a stress fracture. He competed in five races, winning the Mooney Invitational (15:57), coming in third at the Bay State Invitational, finishing fifth at the MVC Meet (16:14) and then tenth at the Division 1A Meet.
“That was a huge race for me. It put me on the map and I proved to myself that I could compete with the top kids in the state,” he said, eluding to the fact that five of the top nine finishers are now at Division 1 college programs including Stanford and Harvard.
But his competition days were short-lived.
“Right after that (1A meet) I was back on the couch for weeks,” he said. “It was very upsetting for me and my family. We couldn’t figure out why this was happening all over again.”
The next 15 months, he spent a lot of time in different hospitals and doctor offices, all while maintaining his National Honor Society status.
“Going to school was kind of a drag because it was so tough to get through the days and people didn’t understand it or know about it,” he said. “People from the outside had no idea what was happening. There were days when the the migraines were so bad, I had to stay home. If I was in school, I’d barely be functioning. I don’t know how I’ve been able to get the work done.”
Over the last few months, Todisco’s physical and mental health dramatically improved.
“I did some antibiotics and treatments over the summer, and we’re hoping that cleared it all,” he said. “I started doing IVIG (Intravenous Immunoglobulin therapy) and that has helped me a lot.”
After getting approved by the MIAA for a fifth year waiver to compete this school year, Todisco is back in the classrooms and on the cross country courses with the biggest smile on his face.
“It just means a lot to me to be out there with my team. It felt so great just to be out there again,” said Todisco. “I’m proud of how far I have come. In the past I couldn’t really see that, but now I’m at a point where I’m back trusting and believing in myself.”