a “celebrity” he’s certainly an inspiration to anyone in the NFL or in Houston battling cancer.
Back in March, Texans offensive lineman David Quessenberry was an Ed Block Award recipient here in Baltimore. We also got to chat briefly with Devon Still, then of the Cincinnati Bengals, whose daughter Leah is also battling cancer.
With his hair barely coming back, Quessenberry sat with Jenn and I downtown with tears in his eyes and talked on the radio about being in an NFL practice one day and then battling for his life days later, diagnosed with lymphoma at M.D. Anderson in Houston, which is one of the leading cancer facilities in the country.
He and Jenn had a lot to discuss in Baltimore back in March.
Now in remission after a year-long battle, Quessenberry brought his whole family to the Padres game in San Diego and dropped by our booth to remind us about how important this cause is for families. He didn’t need a bone marrow transplant to survive his diagnosis. But he made sure Padres fans were getting on the list with us at Petco Park on Day 18.
We’ve made a lot of friends during this leukemia journey.
I told Jenn before the tour that we’d meet new friends and make new friends for life just because of this tour. And I was right.
We’re honored to know a warrior like David Quessenberry.
Two weeks ago, on the HBO series Hard Knocks, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien called Quessenberry into his office, called him an inspiration to everyone in the organization and said: “I know you’re going to be back next year and I know you’re going to play football.”
I shot Quessenberry a tweet: “We know you’ll be back, too!”
Keep your eyes on that big kid down in Houston. He’s one of the good ones!
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THE UTTER FOOLISHNESS OF ATTEMPTING TO drive the whole tour became a reality very early on when we encountered