Long fight ends as Quessenberry answers the bell
Months removed from undergoing his final chemotherapy treatment and triumphantly knocking a bell off the wall at MD Anderson to celebrate his victory over cancer, Texans offensive lineman David Quessenberry had a more muted reaction to his first football practice in years.
Quessenberry simply broke the huddle without fanfare, fired out of his stance and repeated that sequence multiple times under the watchful eye of offensive line coach Mike Devlin.
The Texans’ season doesn’t officially begin until Sept. 10 when they host Jacksonville at NRG Stadium, but Quessenberry already can count an unofficial, meaningful victory.
Quessenberry was back on the practice field this week during an organized team activity, joining his teammates as an active participant for the first time since being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Tlymphoblastic lymphoma three years ago.
There were plenty of moments during his convalescence when Quessenberry wondered whether he would play the game he loved again. The ordeal tested his resolve — physically, emotionally and spiritually — as the California native leaned on his faith, family and friends to conquer the toughest opponent of his life.
“There were a lot of times,” Quessenberry said this spring when asked if he’d questioned his future. “When I finished my intensive treatment, I felt like the furthest thing from a football player — no hair, skinny — but your body is an amazing thing. We just took it slowly. We just did one workout at a time, one treatment at a time and eventually here we are.”
Quessenberry, 26, spent several months undergoing intensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In April, he posted a video on Instagram showing him knocking the bell off the wall to commemorate being cancer-free.
“It was a long fight,” Quessenberry said. “I think, as you can tell from the video, I was pretty excited to ring that bell. It was just a special moment for me and my family and really everybody that helped me out.
“It feels amazing. This is kind of what we had always dreamed about getting to throughout my fight. Now that we’re not talking about the next treatment, we’re just talking about the next phase of the spring, it’s exciting.” A life-saving request
The Texans’ medical staff saved his life when they made sure he went to a hospital to get checked out after Quessenberry complained about a nagging cough and shortness of breath during a minicamp three years ago. Doctors discovered a mass in his lungs and got him started on a treatment schedule.
Quessenberry has spent the past few seasons on the Texans’ reserve lists and has yet to play in a regular-season game. The Texans have kept Quessenberry under contract and under their medical insurance to account for his hefty doctors and treatment bills. Quessenberry maintained a steady presence at the Texans’ training complex as he lifted weights and interacted with teammates and coaches in the locker room.
“This organization has had my back since day one,” Quessenberry said. “That alone is something that’s rare to find, and it’s something that’s very special. That’s what makes this such an awesome place to come into and work every day, knowing that they care about me as a football player and as a person.”
During the first team meeting in April, coach Bill O’Brien singled out Quessenberry for praise. It was an emotional moment.
“In the team meeting, he called me out and he showed the team the video of me ringing the bell,” Quessenberry said. “He has had my back through this whole thing. We’ve gotten close. He has his own struggles in his family and I have mine.
“He has had a lot of wisdom on the way to approach things when it’s your body and you’re going through your own fights. That’s something that I’ve always kind of cherished and been fortunate to have with him since he got here and before I got diagnosed.” ‘Such an inspirational story’
Quessenberry was saluted as the ultimate tough guy for his grit and bravery.
“It’s incredible,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “To have such an inspirational story right in your own building, it’s really special. It’s hard enough just to beat cancer, but to want to come back and play in the National Football League and to want to have that drive, to have that desire, to put in all the work that it takes. He’s an absolute inspiration to myself, he’s an inspiration to our entire locker room. DQ, he’s a hell of a guy. I think he’s a guy you want to go to battle with. He’s a guy who you run through a wall for because you know he’d do the exact same thing for you.”
An inspiration to teammates and fellow cancer patients, Quessenberry was asked what gave him the personal courage to battle his way through this ordeal.
“It’s hard to just put one. I definitely think my family, my faith, just a belief that there’s a bigger picture here and there’s more to it than just me getting diagnosed with cancer,” he said.
In Quessenberry’s honor, there was a Team DQ campaign, a $100,000 donation for lymphoma research along with being honored by the city of Houston and being named an honorary team captain.
“That’s something that has helped me throughout the whole fight,” said Quessenberry. “This is a special city. This is a special place. I’ll never forget that.”
He would be happy just to make the team and play in a game again.
“We’re in uncharted territory, I guess,” Quessenberry said. “Nobody’s ever gone what I’ve gone through specifically, so they’re working as we go. But I feel great and it will be very soon where I can play.
“I’m definitely not the same person, probably physically and mentally. But I think I came out of this stronger, both physically and mentally.”