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"Marist" Magazine
Staying on Course
For sprinter Santosh Krishnan ’20, running as part of Marist’s men’s track and field team is key to treating his cystic fibrosis.
By Stefan Morton ’17
For many people with cystic fibrosis, exercise is difficult. The inherited disease caused by a faulty gene clogs the lungs and digestive system, making it hard to breathe and achieve proper digestion. For Santosh Krishnan ’20, a sprinter on Marist’s track and field team, running is his number-one treatment.
“Marist track and field is one of the best things to happen to me because the team keeps me healthy,” says Krishnan, known as “Tosh” by his teammates. “I love being on the ground after a workout, hurting like hell, and huffing and puffing because I know it’s the best thing for me.”
The only way to get rid of the thick mucus that clogs his lungs is to break it down and spit it out. He clears his airways by using a nebulizer, wearing a vibrating vest, and running.
“Every day, I inhale hypertonic saline through a nebulizer,” Krishnan says. “It acts like scissors and breaks down the mucus that may contain bacteria or germs so I can spit it out. The other thing I do is wear a vest. It shakes a lot, vibrating constantly, and shakes my lungs to help break down my mucus. I just take 20 minutes a day to sit down and relax and do my treatments, maybe even read a book during this time and just let the mucus break down. Luckily for me, I don’t have the worst case. Some people need the vest and nebulizer multiple times a day, and it’s so bad that some can’t get to the point of exercising or breathing normally.”
The disease, along with its pulmonary issues, also affects the digestive system, blocking the pancreas from breaking down fat and protein. Krishnan takes enzymes in the form of pills to allow him to digest food. “Not only fat and protein but vitamins aren’t absorbed as well as a normal person so I take six or seven extra vitamins and multivitamins per day.”
His liver has to work hard to process the extra vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes. If he were to drink alcohol, his liver could be at risk to eventually exhaust. “Even if I want to enjoy a cup of wine (when I’m 21) with my family, I have to check with my doctor.”
Krishnan was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at nine months old. “Because of that, I wasn’t absorbing vitamins and such for a long time, and this affected my brain to the point where I was placed in special education growing up. I didn’t speak until I was 5 because my brain just didn’t develop fast enough. Without enzymes, nutrients, and vitamins, I just wasn’t functioning the same as everyone else.
“Finally, during my junior year of high school I was taken out of special education because I proved that I could work in school like everyone at that point. I was just a little behind the learning curve at first because I started out behind.”
CF also infects the sinuses. As a youth, Krishnan had two surgeries on his nose to drain the mucus that was backed up in his sinuses. “I couldn’t breathe through my nose for the first 10 years of my life. My sinuses are a lot healthier now since the surgeries.”
Still, he was luckily able to play sports and do just about anything that other kids could do. His talent for running revealed itself when he was in fourth grade. “The state of Connecticut mandated a mile run for gym class. I found myself out in front of everybody else, almost a minute ahead. People were telling my mom I would be a runner, and she told me I’d rock the track in high school. In my fifth-grade track meet I won the 100-meter dash by a significant amount. That made me love running even more. And to boot, it turns out running improves my condition. So why not continue to be competitive in running in middle school and high school?”
With the support of his mother, Krishnan joined his high school track and field team. “I was putting down some average times to start — mid-50s in the 400-meter dash and mid-20s in the 200-meter dash. As I got better I thought it would be cool to go to college for it.”
During his junior year he reached out to college coaches including Pete Colaizzo ’86, head coach of Marist cross-country and track and field programs. “I didn’t tell him about CF until I was here,” says Krishnan. “I didn’t see it as a disadvantage to my running, and I knew if I told any coach, they wouldn’t know what it was, anyway.”
“I was totally surprised when I learned about Tosh's CF,” says Colaizzo. “My first reaction was, ‘I don't want to put this kid in any danger.’ But he handles it seamlessly and without issue. In fact, he had no CF-related issues at all that I am aware of during his freshman year.”
Prior to a race, Krishnan says he does “normal track stuff” — listening to music, warming up — and uses an albuterol inhaler. “I actually had to tell the NCAA about all the enzymes I was taking, in case I am a subject for drug testing.”
Colaizzo says Krishnan is a super-great kid and an inspiration to both him and the team. “Tosh is an earnest young man and a very hard worker. Because of that, he is well liked and well respected among his teammates. We anticipate that with hard work and dedication, he will continue to work his way up the ladder on our team.
“We are thrilled to have him in our Marist track family, and we're all rooting for him each and every day.”
Stefan Morton ’17 was a distance runner on the Marist track and field team.