Kenechi Udeze Retires From NFL, His Cancer Fight an Inspiration to All

Former first-round pick Kenechi Udeze officially retired from the Vikings, citing the aftereffects of his treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and subsequent bone marrow transplant. Coach Brad Childress talked about how Udeze didn't want to let people down, and how hard he fought to come back. Udeze suffered from chemo-related pain and numbness in his feet that made it difficult to do drills or even wear shoes.

Udeze is an inspiration. I'm not sure the stories about his attempt at a comeback express how serious and difficult a fight against ALL can be. My sister Debby was diagnosed with the same form of leukemia in 2005 and, like Udeze, went through a bone marrow transplant through a sibling donation. Though everyone's reaction to treatment is different, there is nothing on the football field that is as difficult and painful as what I saw my sister go through.

Out of all the people Debby knew who went through the transplant process at the same time she did, she was the only one who survived.

To treat ALL in adults, the doctors first do multiple rounds of chemotherapy to kill the leukemia in the body. Then if it is a serious form of leukemia, and they can find a donor match, they do a bone marrow or stem cell transplant because the chemotherapy alone typically fails against this form of cancer. Leukemia is a blood cancer, so the transplant is what is used to restart the immune system from scratch with cells that create new blood.

Transplant matching isn't done by blood type but by other factors, so after a transplant a person's blood type can change. My sister's turned from O positive to A negative. Her immune system was like a newborn baby's, and she needed to get all of her immunizations again and be careful about exposure to germs.

My sister's transplant itself wasn't difficult, just stem cells in an IV bag. It's the radiation, chemotherapy, and grafting of the new cells that is so painful. Debby lost 30 pounds because she couldn't swallow for a month and a half. No food, no water, and for a time, not even her own saliva. Everyone's reaction to treatment is different, but I can't imagine it is easy for anyone.

Udeze says it hasn't been easy, and I am guessing that is an extreme understatement.


I remember as Debby was in the hospital for weeks after transplant, how we would go on walks through the hallways to get her out of the bed, and to get her stronger. We would always walk to the wall that had pictures of transplant survivors, with descriptions of how they were getting on with their lives. Doing things. Living life. You need inspiration when you are in so much pain you can't swallow and need help to shuffle down the hallways.

To think that someone post-transplant went through an NFL mini-camp, even on a limited basis, is astonishing.

When anyone fights a serious illness or injury, it is both life affirming but difficult to witness. You watch all the senseless death on the news, and it seems more senseless when you watch someone working so hard just to live. Living whatever the new normal life is, whether it is winning the Tour de France, or attempting to get a football career back, to just trying to live -- walking, driving, breathing -- with pain.

Udeze may not live his NFL dreams, but he inspires by just being. With whatever physical limitations his cancer and treatment have left him. He needs to reclaim his life again, not defined by football or by cancer.

Like anyone after a transplant, he will be receiving regular biopsies to see if there are signs of the leukemia, and face the fear that it will come back. A few years ago, his diagnosis would have meant certain, quick death, and hopefully over time his form of cancer and other cancers will become more treatable, and the treatments not so full of pain.

And then, someday, perhaps cancer will be something that used to happen to people.

My sister Debby's story unfortunately did not have a good ending. The transplant gave her a few more years with her family and friends, but she relapsed at the end of 2008, and she died early this spring. She lived with that possibility, and it was always tough on her. I miss her greatly, and I hope that Udeze's story ends up like those survivors on the wall of the hospital who lived, and lived well for long times, providing inspiration and hope to others.

We wish him well.