Trista Sutter has recently opened up about her husband Ryan Sutter’s health, stating they have answers for his mystery illness that he has been dealing with for the past year. However, with no clear treatment, Ryan is struggling, according to Trista.
In May, the Bachelorette couple shared that after months of tests and doctor’s appointments, Ryan was diagnosed with Lyme disease. They said the disease was aggravated by mold toxins, along with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and long-haul COVID-19.
Speaking on fellow Bachelor Nation members Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti’s podcast Almost Famous, Trista said Ryan has “his up days and down days.”
“I try to look at the positive, and it’s definitely a good thing to have answers,” the 48-year-old TV personality said. “So I’m very thankful that we have answers, because not knowing is so, so, so difficult.”
However, she said, “those answers actually come with so many more questions that, even though we found out part of it, and yes, I’m thankful and grateful for that, it’s actually difficult. He’s not feeling great today. And he has his up days and down days.”
She went on to say that for Ryan, Lyme disease “will be a lifetime diagnosis that he’ll have to deal with, but it is difficult in that there’s not one medication he can take. There’s not surgery he can do. So that’s hard.”
Trista said she is “grateful” that Ryan’s case is not as severe as other people’s, stating, “He’s among one of the lucky ones with Lyme disease in that he hasn’t lost the ability to speak, he hasn’t lost the ability to walk, he hasn’t lost the ability to use his arms.”
“I feel lucky in the fact that it’s in certain parts of his body,” she added. “We know that it’s probably in his ankle, he has a bad knee, it’s probably residing in those. But he has brain fog occasionally and the fatigue is unbearable sometimes for him. But I do feel lucky that it’s not as severe as some people that we’re hearing.”
Tearfully, Trista said it has been difficult for Ryan to control the symptoms and for her to see him going through that pain.
“It’s been hard, to see him struggle, because he is such a strong human in general,” she said. “But he doesn’t share that with everyone. So it’s just hard to see the person you love most in the world feeling like crap.”
Trista continued, “It’s been hard. And not because I want any attention on me, [but] because I want him to be better, I want him to wake up feeling great, I want him to be able to spend time with our family and make memories, and when you don’t feel good, it just takes away from life. I’m not doing great.”
The couple now hopes to raise awareness of Lyme disease and help raise funds for more research and finding a cure.
“We want to be able to spread the word,” Trista said. “Our hope is that we can get involved to help raise funds for research so that more people can find relief from their symptoms.”
