In what appears to be a typical workout session, Todd Van Laere and his trainer, Anthony Morando, have developed a profound friendship within the confines of the weight room. Their bond is a testament to resilience and the human spirit’s capacity to overcome adversity.
Todd’s Medical Odyssey
In 2018, Todd Van Laere was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, compounded by a gene mutation that necessitated a stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic. His brother David was a perfect donor match, but the procedure was grueling.
“You’ve got to stay there for a hundred days,” Van Laere recalled from Northwood, North Dakota. “But they also told me, ‘I’m going to try to cure you of a disease, but I’m going to give you another disease.’”
That disease is called graft-versus-host disease, where the transplanted stem cells attack both cancerous and healthy cells in Van Laere’s body.
“I basically lived at Mayo for about two years,” he said. “I had a lot of complications after a hundred days. Infections in my back, my hips, my knees. I ended up with compression fractures in my back. I’ve had both my hips replaced. I’ve had six different hip surgeries. I’ve had both my shoulders replaced because of it.
“I did all my surgeries in one year, had all the replacements in a one-year timeframe. And I think it was the end of 2020 when I finally started really doing PT.”
Acts of Kindness and Connection
Upon returning home, Van Laere relied on a wheelchair and began physical therapy at a Grand Forks gym, where Anthony Morando worked. While they didn’t train together initially, Morando consistently greeted Van Laere, a small act of kindness that left a lasting impact.
“The deck seemed like it was stacked against him at the time,” Morando said. “So saying, ‘What’s up? How’s it going?’ Anybody can do that. Obviously, he’s trying, he’s showing up. And if anybody’s struggling to any extent, you don’t want to see somebody just constantly down. So that’s all just being a normal human.”
This simple gesture resonated with Van Laere. When Morando later joined Sanford Sports in Grand Forks, Van Laere, now out of his wheelchair, sought him out.
“When I came walking in the door here, and I actually came walking in the door… I said, ‘Bet you don’t remember me.’ I had a mask on too at the time. And he’s like, ‘No.’ And I took my mask down and he was like, ‘Holy s*** Todd. Oh my God. I thought you were dead,’” Van Laere recounted, laughing at the memory.
“I probably took a triple take,” said Morando, now the general manager of Sanford Sports Grand Forks. “I honestly didn’t even know if he was alive. That’s how bad he looked. Like he was hurting physically, could not move. He was masked up. He was in a wheelchair. He had braces on him. But no, I didn’t know who he was. And then it dawned on me and I just said, ‘You look great!’”
Building Back Stronger
More than five years post-diagnosis, Van Laere works out twice a week with Morando, aiming to rebuild his strength and resume his favorite activities.
“I am playing golf now,” Van Laere said. “Stamina is a big thing. I like to hunt. I like to fish. I like to walk with my dogs. So it’s a lot of coordination, balance, core stuff. Just trying to feel normal again. And it’s working because I believe that I’m actually stronger now than before 2017.”
Morando tailors the workouts to accommodate Van Laere’s past injuries, ensuring safety and progress.
“With a guy like Todd, or any member that comes in past the age of 30, you almost become a jigsaw puzzle. Especially with all the things that he’s been through. There are certain days he comes out of here, he’s not feeling great,” Morando said. “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows every day. If his back is sore, there’s a certain movement in our workout that might not happen that day, and I might have to shift it to something else. That’s what I do.”
The synergy between the two men transcends training, fostering a friendship rooted in mutual respect and shared goals.
“His personality is what makes it fun here, not just for me, but you see it with everybody else,” Van Laere said. “My journey started at the hospital, but this is where I’m supposed to be now. And finishing my journey with him has been the most important part of this journey. Because if I didn’t have him, I still don’t know if I would be able to do the things that I love to do.”
Todd Van Laere’s story is a powerful reminder that with determination, support, and a bit of kindness, one can overcome even the most daunting challenges.