If you follow the rapidly growing sport of disc golf, you certainly know the name Ricky Wysocki. One of the sport’s true superstars turned pro in 2010 and since that time has earned prize money well in excess of $500,000. However, a shock Lyme disease diagnosis in 2019 left him bedridden for months and his career on the sidelines. After navigating some greatly uncertain times, Wysocki returned to the disc golf circuit where he is once again the top-ranking athlete.

M&F sat down with the 29-year-old disc golf supremo to find out more about Lyme disease. Also, Wysocki discusses how he came back stronger than ever.

Ricky Wysocki competes on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, the largest professional disc golf tour in the world. The tour features the most elite disc athletes on the planet. As a busy competitor, he had no thoughts of slowing down until he was blindsided at the peak of his powers. “Not much of anything at all,” was Wysocki’s knowledge of Lyme disease before it became an ailment that he would come to understand more than most. In his case, the first symptoms presented themselves as weakness and fatigue. Unfortunately, Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose without a blood test, since more than 100 symptoms have been known to present themselves and this often misleads people into thinking they are suffering from something else.

Ricky Wysocki was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2019

Ricky Wysocki had been infected by a tick bite, but the telltale bullseye-shaped rash that often provides a clue to the disease didn’t show up until six weeks after the bite took place. “I took a blood test and tested positive for Lyme disease,” recalls the athlete, who now had to go on a steep learning curve. “I wasn’t sure what it actually meant.” Indeed, going into 2020, the pro entered a low point. “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 other outdoor sports disc golf exposes athletes to ticks that inhabit grass and woodlands and so Wysocki now recommends Insect Shield for protection. While Lyme disease is talked about less than many other illnesses, there are ticks in every state of the U.S. and cases are on the up. In fact, around half-a-million Americans contract Lyme disease each year. The CDC…