“Some days you just write off… Whether as an expense for historic abuse or an investment in future adventure, there are days we just need a break. I have a few more of those days lately? Today was one of them,” Sutter captioned a photo of himself sitting on the couch in his pajamas. “Up at 10:00 (6.5 hours later than the 3:30 am I have to wake up for work). Still in my PJs at 12:30 when I took this picture and watching a @warrenmillerent documentary, I struggled with allowing the grace to do nothing – to heal and recover. But I need to heal and recover. We all do. And I guess that’s ok…”

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The firefighter also added the hashtags “#getbetter #dayoff #recover #life #tomorrowisanewday.”

In November 2020, Trista Sutter, who shares children Maxwell Alston, 13, and Blakesley Grace, 11, with Ryan, first opened up about his mystery illness, explaining that her husband had visited many doctors, and no one was able to find a diagnosis.

Ryan first noticed something was off in February 2020 as he wrapped up an 18-week training course with the Denver Fire Department, he shared via Instagram in December 2020. In a lengthy post, he listed various symptoms he had been experiencing, including “fatigue — sometimes almost paralyzing, deep body and muscle aches, fevers, night sweats, full body itching with no rash, headaches, neck and throat swelling, congestion, lightheadedness and nausea.”

The firefighter, who married Trista, 48, in 2003 after they met on the first season of The Bachelorette, later thanked his wife for the dedication she put in to figuring out what was happening with his body.

“I was no longer alone in my struggle. My wife went on a mission, developing a medical strategy and path towards hopeful answers while at the same time leaving daily reminder notes to keep my spirits up,” Ryan wrote via Instagram on December 23. “My family has rallied behind me, my friends have shown tremendous support and my colleagues a high degree of understanding and patience. For all of this I am grateful.
My intent in sharing this is to make a single point… Resiliency is not a solo act. It is not expected nor probably even possible for a single person to provide the entirety of their own resilience.”

The Colorado native has been tracking his progress over the last year, revealing in February that he was back in the gym.

“Doing my best to get back to my best,” he captioned a photo of himself lifting weights on February 23. “Thanks @dogmaathletica for letting me use the gym! #gettingstronger #onedayatatime.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Emily Longeretta